Out of Sight, Out of Mind
by Drachegirl14
Summary: OC-centric Meiou had always believed she was an Uzumaki, Naruto's sister. But now, dreams of a little girl and her village are disrupting her life, and making her unable to tell the difference between reality and the world of dreams.
1. Prologue

**Drachegirl14: Hello everyone!!! Welcome to my story. It's pleasant to meet you all and I'd like to thank you for reading my Naruto story. This is my first one and I'm trying to do my absolute best, so hang in here with me all right?**

**Just a couple of things to say first off:**

**1) Meiou, Talon, and Nanaki are OCs of mine I developed specifically for this story. In the beginning they may seem a bit Mary Sue/Gary Sue-ish. They'll change, as all characters do, throughout the story. I promise.**

**2) No flames. Please. If you have enough time to write someone a review that is neither constructive nor useful because you hated their story for whatever reasons, then you have enough time to click the back button on your browser so you don't have to read it. It's just common sense peoples.**

**Summary: Meiou had always known that Naruto was her brother, because it was a true fact; however, dreams of a little girl and her village are starting to interfere with her life. Now, Meiou isn't sure what is reality . . . and what are just dreams.**

**Pairings: Meiou(OC) / ?, Talon(OC) / ?, Nanaki(OC) / ?, Naruto/Hinata, Kurenai/Asuma**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I do not and never will own Naruto. I just use the characters to tell a story, and I am not making money off of it, or them, or any other things in here. The only things I own are Meiou, her village and her people and her nation, her** **Kekkei Genkai, Talon, Nanaki, and the AU part of the story where things get wonky.**

**Prologue**

_In the time before the sealing of the Nine Tailed Fox, there was a small nation on the North Peninsula, right on the border of Fire Country, known as the Land of Time (Time Country). The people here were peaceful, and the arts were their past time. Among these talented artists, musicians, and dancers came a powerful race of shinobi that lived in the Hidden Eclipse Village. Their Shadow was known as the Tsukikage (Moon Shadow). Immediately after the sealing of the Fox, the Seventh Tsukikage gave birth to a little girl. The villagers loved the child and took great pleasure in making her smile and laugh. Things would not remain pleasant for so long . . . on the night of the child's fifth birthday, disaster struck and Lady Fate twisted the girl's life to suit her own purposes . . ._

The sounds of the evening were pleasant among the forest and wilderness surrounding the brightly lit celebratory village. Laughter, music, and the sounds of human voices filled the air with pleasant chatter and a sense of warmth. It was an absolutely beautiful night for a party. The night sky stretched overhead, clear and cool, sparkling with the scattered stars and bathing everything in the soft glow of the low hanging blue full moon. A gentle cool breeze blew through the long grasses and the tree leaves that had just started to change colors, indicating that fall was the time of year. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted and called, its soft cry traveling through the otherwise silent forest, bouncing off trees and echoing into the large hills that surrounded the somewhat small Hidden Time Village.

Her mother had brought her out here. The tiny five year old girl blinked up at the larger mirrored version of herself. She aspired to be like her mother, to be like the talented gorgeous creature next to her that moved with elegance and grace that came from 28 years of experience. Normally, the tiny girl thought, her mother was always so proud and stately, but she supposed that came from her mother's job of being the leader of her people's shinobi, the Tsukikage. Tonight, however, her mother's countenance was soft and playful, emitting a tranquil feel as the two slowly made their way back to the party in the village.

"Mother, thank you for my kimono," the little girl said yet again.

The Tsukikage, Nyoko, smiled down at her precious treasure. "Of course my little one. You look absolutely beautiful."

Meiou looked down self consciously. Her mother had often said that, but Meiou, bless her soul, did not think so. Her mother was the perfect epitome of beauty. Long black wavy tresses flowed like a waterfall from the top of her skull to the small of her back, cascading downwards in a way that made them look as though they were always rippling down her back. Dark brown eyes gazed at her daughter with warmth and love, with the thickest and darkest eyelashes Meiou had ever seen. Tonight, on her mother's petite deadly frame, was a dark blue kimono, trimmed with white twisted rope and tied with a white sash. Her mother walked slowly and patiently as they reached the gates of their village, the gates of her home.

Before they crossed the village gates, Meiou caught sight of herself in one of the glass ornaments hanging from a nearby oak tree. Soft, long, pure white hair flowed from the top of her skull and had been brushed to smoothness and braided carefully, falling down her back and ending at the back of her knees. Her own bright blue eyes stared at her form inquisitively, raking along the sky blue kimono trimmed with white rope. Tiny hands hung limply at her side as she perused her own image.

"Meiou," her mother's laughing voice injected, "Let's go, everyone wants to see you Kitten."

Her mother often called her Kitten, but Meiou didn't know why, and her mother would often side-step any questions in reference to the nickname. Quickly catching up to her mother, she once more took her beloved mother's hand and the two walked through the gates of their village . . . the Gesshoku no Sato (Village Hidden in the Eclipse).

Meiou waved to all the happy people that were dancing in the streets, and her mother smiled when Meiou's favorite vendor gave Meiou her favorite treat for her birthday- an expensive sweet pastry, small, but delicious none-the-less.

Thanking the vendor, the two continued on their way, with shouts of greeting from their people, both sides.

Tonight, to Meiou, it seemed nothing could go wrong. In fact, walking up the street, was the only person that could make this even better, in her opinion. His outfit was pure black, formfitting, and around his neck hung the Eclipse Village's hitai-ate, bearing their village's symbol, a large circle with a single dot in the middle of it. His black hair was cut short but it still stuck every which way in an unruly fashion, and hung in his eyes, which were the brilliant brown of her mother. He was definitely her mother's child, her elder brother, Kyo.

"Nii-san!!!!" The little girl promptly forgot her mother and let go of the older woman's hand to rush forward and reached out with her arms. "Nii-san!!"

Kyo's eyes lightened to a lighter brown color and he knelt down from his towering six foot four inches to pick up the young girl racing at him. As soon as her hands touched his broad muscular shoulders, he used his shinobi speed to pick her up and twirl her around in the night air, drawing peals of laughter from her lips as the birthday girl shrieked in delight. "There she is!!! There's my imouto!!!!!"

When he held her to his chest, the five-year-old snuggled into his embrace and hugged him tightly, "I missed you Kyo-nii-san."

"I missed you too Meiou-imouto," Kyo said in his soft voice. He looked over the snowy haired girl's head to meet the eyes of his mother. "Tsukikage-sama."

Nyoko laughed and came to embrace her son, "Kyo, my son, it is good to see you home and safe."

"Same to you mother," Kyo replied, hoisting Meiou onto his hip to grab his mother in a one armed hug.

The woman's lips twitched into a full blown smile, "I trust you were successful?"

Before Kyo could answer, Meiou's brow furrowed and she pouted at her mother, "Okaa-san, Kyo's the best shin . . . shino . . . ninja in this village," the girl said and she frowned deeply, "nii-san always completes his missions!!!"

Kyo laughed along with his mother at the young child's declaration and he nodded in agreement, "Yes I was, Tsukikage-sama. Aside from that . . ." He reached into his kunai pouch on his hip and pulled out a small brightly wrapped package. "Happy Birthday Meiou!!!"

The child squealed in delight and tore open the package, only to find a small dark blue choker with a teeny white charm hanging from it, which symbolized the full moon. "Nii-san . . ." Meiou's blue eyes were comically wide with awe at what she thought was the prettiest necklace in the world. "It's so pretty . . ."

"Do you like it Meiou?" her older brother was amused.

"Yes!!! A thousand times yes!!!" Meiou said, flinging her arms around her older brother's neck. As her mother put the necklace on, Meiou could not help but feel complete and happy, as she'd ever been.

"Now you're even prettier than before my Little One," her mother chuckled.

The little girl's eyes practically glowed with happiness, "This is the best birthday ever!!!!" The little girl felt, in her heart, that everything was perfect, and that nothing would possibly go wrong tonight.

But the five-year-old girl did not know how incorrect she was.

It was much later at night, after the birthday girl had been tucked into her small bed, when a crash pulled Meiou from her happy slumber and back into reality. Small hands rubbed sleep away from neon blue eyes, and she struggled under her heavy covers, finally managing to squirm out of the small warm cocoon her mother always tucked her into. The tiny child slid to the edge of her bed and peered into the darkness, noticing how her eyes always seemed to be able to see through the inky blackness as though it were daytime. She asked her mother about it once, but her mother would simply smile and say that she would understand one day when she was older. Right now, though, the small girl accepted her (somewhat odd) trait and then looked down off the edge of her bed. The white plush carpeting seemed to be a long way down, and Meiou hesitated for a moment, afraid.

Then another crash came, this time from outside, below her window. Her bright eyes snapped to the window, and she gasped at what she could see.

The tiny village remained spread out below her window, as their small manor was on a hill overlooking the valley where her people lived. From her vantage point, she could see smoke rising from different places, flashes of steel, small fires growing on buildings, and people. So many sounds rang through the shattered tranquil air, sounds of weapons clashing, yells of pain, screams of horror, children were crying, people were dying . . .

She slid off the edge of her bed, bare tiny feet finally reaching the floor, and the tiny girl pulled down on her small white nightgown that was no more than a too big t-shirt. Her tiny feet hurriedly padded across the floor, to the sliding paper door on the other side of the room. She stopped in fright, in the middle of the room, when she heard a set of feet quickly approaching her room. A shadowed figure was all Meiou's frightened mind could see, and then the shadow hand that reached out and slid her door open . . .

To reveal her mother, dressed in her battle gear and covered in dirt, sweat, and blood. Meiou's eyes raked up her mother's figure. Tight form fitting black pants (now torn and bloodied) and a loose fitting black halter top (with a serious looking gash across her stomach) hid her mother's once beautiful china white skin from view. Her arms were marred with bruises and small cuts, and Meiou's eyes easily picked out the large deadly looking gash racing down her mother's side, from the bottom of her right armpit to the top of her right hip. Her hair had been pulled back into a bun, and her eyes were hard until they softened upon seeing her daughter's scared expression.

She knelt and replaced the bloody kunai she'd been holding back into her kunai pouch that had been strapped onto her upper thigh. "Meiou, come here, we're going on a little trip." Though her mother's voice was soft, it held a sad lit to it.

"Mama! You're hurt!" Meiou cried suddenly, running forward to gently embrace the older woman.

"I'm all right for now, treasure, but we must hurry," Nyoko said firmly. "Grab a small bag and I will help you with packing."

"Okay . . ." Meiou scampered off to do what her mother asked, something telling her she should not question her mother or ask anything at all. She returned from her closet with a tiny duffel bag, large enough to hold some clothes and perhaps a stuffed animal or two.

Silently and swiftly, her mother grasped two kimonos, some sleepwear, a few t-shirts and skirts and a couple pairs of pants for her daughter, and in a flash, had them all rolled and neatly packed within the duffle bag. Meiou ran over to her bed and climbed on top of it with some difficulty. At last, she managed to get to the top of the mattress and grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, a stuffed white dragon with silver wings named Skye. Holding her beloved plushie close, she turned to see her mother concentrating hard on the same necklace her nii-san had presented to her earlier. Once more sliding off her bed, the young girl grasped the hem of her mother's shirt with some difficulty, and finally proceeded to yank on it. "Mama, I'm ready."

"Good." Her mother's voice sounded distant, until the entire necklace began to glow white, the color of her mother's chakra. Seeing the bright white flash once more roused the young girl's curiosity, but she remained silent, until her mother once more said, "Good," but this time in a firmer tone. She slipped the choker into her kunai pouch and then zipped up Meiou's bag. Nyoko grasped Meiou's hand tightly, tugging her forward at a brisk pace, much faster than the leisurely one they'd taken earlier that night. She stopped momentarily near a wall and opened a secret panel, finding what she was looking for instantly. A scroll just a bit shorter than the duffel bag was slipped into the bag, before Nyoko once more took Meiou's hand and gripped it tightly, looking down at her daughter seriously.

"Come Meiou, and whatever happens, _don't let go of my hand_."

Meiou nodded once and the two set off quickly. Once outside her room, Meiou found three more men waiting for them, all in masks that covered their lower faces and the traditional Time Hitai-Ate, bearing the symbol of their village (a circle with a small dot in the middle). The three men . . . she recognized them very well. One was her older brother, Kyo. She could recognize him even with the bone white mask depicting an owl covering his face. The other two were friends of her mother's from their time at the Academy. Her mother and her two friends had been pre-Genin at that time, and then they'd become even closer as their time at the academy wore on. Then came the Genin exams, and then after a few years the Chuunin, then the Jounin, and now her mother's closest friends and once teammates stood at attention, ready to guard their Shadow with their lives.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, the girl-child grasped her mother's hand tightly. "Mama, where are we going?"

Nyoko seemed to not hear her child, as her eyes fixed on the second male with dark red hair. "Has the Hokage been notified?"

"Yes, we sent out the message an hour ago. He is waiting in Konohagure no Sato," he replied swiftly. "Now please, Tsukikage-sama, we must leave at once."

Nyoko nodded and began to tug the child's hand with her, and soon they were leaving the house, with Meiou's tiny legs trying to keep up with the other four adults.

"Once we reach the edges of our village, we'll be able to get there by jutsu." Her older brother murmured as they swept through alleyways and down streets lined with flames and dead bodies among the once beautiful buildings and stands of the most beautiful crafts there. Quietly, they slipped through the streets until they arrived at the gates. There, Meiou found herself alone with her mother, in the deep shadows of an alleyway, as the other three fought and killed the enemy ninja guarding the exit.

Nyoko took Meiou over to a ravaged stall, and placed her behind it, hidden from site by the broken wood and shattered charms that remained from earlier this evening. Then, she knelt in front of Meiou. "Mommy will be right back, she has to help older brother with the fight okay? Stay here."

Meiou nodded, clutching Skye tightly to her chest. She remained in the dark for about five minutes before her mother returned, sporting a new fresh bruise on her face. "Quickly Meiou."

Meiou reached out to grasp her mother's hand, and the two flew into the streets swiftly, or as quickly as Meiou could run. Suddenly, Meiou felt her right arm become cooler with the air, and she looked down as they continued running for the gates.

Skye wasn't there.

"Wait!!!" She cried, turning and spotting her dragon in the middle of the street, lying and looking quite sad and abandoned. "Wait, Mommy, I dropped Skye!"

"There's no time Meiou." Nyoko said, picking up the girl. The tiny white haired child watched in growing hysteria and despair as the tiny dragon was simply left there, watching her leave.

"Skye!!!" Meiou cried, struggling against her mother. "Skye!!!!"

"Shhh, Kitten, shh now." Nyoko said, catching up with their three Jounin escort.

"We leave. Now." The Tsukikage tone held no argument, and at once hand signs were made, and all four of the ninja, plus little Meiou, vanished from Gesshoku in a flash of gold and white.

Several miles away, in the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage gazed around in worry at those assembled in his office. Several Leaf Jounin stood around the walls, a few gazing out the windows in silence. Along the large table that had been brought in sat the Council of Elders, himself.

Suddenly, in through the window into the silent room came a ninja. Everyone stiffened and eyes were all on the blonde haired man that had emerged from the darkness of the late night.

His body was limp and he seemed to be running on willpower alone. "The Tsukikage and her child . . . shall be in momentarily . . . the Village . . . Hidden in the Eclipse . . . is no more . . ." He managed to get out, before collapsing and dying.

Wordlessly, a nameless Jounin carried the body out of the room, and returned swiftly.

There was more silence reigning upon the room, though the Hokage could tell that many wanted to debate, scream, and question, but his presence would not allow it.

Breaking through the tense atmosphere and the turbulent silence was a small knock on the sliding door. The Hokage nodded and another Jounin opened the door.

The lighting of the hallways and room was dim, provided by tiny candles that threw dancing shadows heavily around the two people in the doorway. They receded as the Tsukikage and, with some gentle encouragement, her daughter stepped through the door easily.

All those not at attention quickly snapped to it, and silent gasps of horror were exchanged among many people. The woman had clearly come from battle, and the Hokage rose and escorted her to a seat. The little white haired girl looked about the room with a sad, melancholy look etched on her soft features, clinging to her dying mother's presence like a life preserver. It was a look the Hokage knew did not suit the child.

"Nyoko-san," the Hokage asked in his soft voice, "What happened?"

"An ambush my friend," Nyoko responded wearily. "I'm not sure who they were, they wore no symbol, so my guess was rouges from the different villages . . ." She trailed off as she took in the outraged and upset expressions flickering on the faces of a few Jounin in the room.

"This is speculation." She continued on sharply, despite the fact that she looked as though she knocked on death's door and was waiting for him to answer. "I do not accuse my fellow nations of any sort of foul play."

The Hokage let out a sigh through his nose. "Nyoko-san . . . this is your child?" He gestured at the small girl who was now in the center of the room and looking at the Jounin stationed along the walls and the ANBU members holding their positions firmly in the shadows with interest.

"Yes. She is my daughter, the possessor to her father's Kekkei Genkai, and the only surviving child or plain out survivor of our village's destruction. Her name is Meiou Retsoku." Nyoko looked fondly upon the girl, and all eyes turned to stare at her. The little girl shrank under their gazes, and looked down at her feet.

"What will happen to Meiou once you die?" The Hokage asked quietly, his eyes assessing her injuries. He briefly noted that the Council was, for some unknown reason, being silent.

"You mean after tonight?" Nyoko chuckled, ignoring the stunned looks she got. "I'm not stupid everyone-my injuries mean my death. At the rate this is going, I'd say . . . sometime within the next few hours . . . by the way, when I die, you won't have to worry about my corpse . . ."

Most exchanged glances, but Nyoko's sharp eyes caught the fact that most of the Elders were eyeing her child in a calculating manner. Sighing, she forced herself to sit up, and looked around, meeting the eyes of everyone, "I want her to be here, in Konoha."

"That's outrageous," snorted an elder man. He looked fleshy and soft and his piggy-like small watery eyes squinted at Nyoko, "She would not be able to belong her. Why should we invite an enemy into our fortress?"

Nyoko's eyes flashed and she slammed a fist onto the table, "Because we are allies who've just been wiped out. I am asking you, no I am demanding, as an ally of Konoha, that you take my daughter into your home and raise her as one of your own."

There was a tense, strained silence, during which the little girl-child wandered over to a friendly looking man with brown hair and a scar on his face. "Hi, I'm Meiou!" She said nervously in a cheerful manner.

The man was watching her with unreadable dark eyes but a smile broke out across his face as he knelt to look at her. "Hi Meiou. My name is Iruka."

"Iruka-nii-san?" The girl asked and at that notion, everyone looked startled, and surprise was blatantly splashed across Iruka's face. "You look like Kyo-nii-san . . ." She turned her head to look at her mother with sad blue eyes, "Okaa-san?"

Nyoko turned her threatening gaze to a warm one as her head shifted to look at her daughter, "Hm?"

"Where's Kyo-nii-san?"

Stillness poured from Nyoko's body before she gave her daughter a small smile, "He had to leave on another mission." Meiou smiled at Iruka before turning to toddle over to her mother, and looking up at her trustingly. It broke Nyoko's heart to say the next words that spilled from her mouth, "Mommy will have to join him too, soon."

Meiou frowned, then brightened, "Can I come this time?"

Nyoko's lips twitched, "No Little One. You stay here in Konoha." She pulled Meiou's choker from her kunai pouch, feeling the creeping numbness of eternal sleep seeping into her limbs. She picked up her daughter and placed her on her lap, holding her close as she put on the necklace. Her sad eyes turned once more to the Hokage, ignoring the murmuring elders and silent shinobi. "This choker is full of my chakra – it is meant to block her memories of our village so she will grow up a true Konoha citizen. This jutsu is not meant to be broken, and . . ." She inhaled then exhaled, "And she will not remember what has happened this night or any before it."

"Excuse me, Tsukikage-sama," the brown haired man that had introduced himself as Iruka to her daughter stepped forward, "Is that . . . is it really necessary?"

Nyoko's eyes searched the man for a good long while, and though he didn't fidget or move about nervously, she could tell he was mildly put off by her scrutiny. "Unfortunately," she said softly. "I just want her to be happy, without the markings of this swaying her to what she truly wants to do."

Iruka gave her a sad look and a hesitant nod. The Hokage cleared his throat, "The jutsu?"

Nyoko smiled, "I know you have powerful mind techniques here Hokage-sama," again she ignored the pointed murmurings of the Council of Elders and some of the other Jounin. "I need someone to activate the jutsu inside her mind." She wrestled with the bag at her side for a moment, holding Meiou steady on her lap as she felt her legs and feet go numb. Finally, she managed to pull out the scroll. "This will explain the specific jutsu I've charged into the necklace, Meiou's Kekkei Genkai, and other jutsu relevant to our village. You may use them as you see fit but please, if Meiou chooses to become a Kunoichi, give her the first chance to learn them," she begged quietly.

The Hokage took the proffered scroll and did not look at it, simply watched her with great concern and sorrow. Nyoko kissed Meiou's forehead and held her close. "Meiou, treasure?"

Meiou turned to gaze at her mother. "Okaa-san?"

"Shh . . . remember big brother's mission? I have to go join him now . . ."

Meiou's eyes filled with tears and she snuggled closer to her mother. "Mama . . ."

"Be strong, for me," her mother whispered. Instead of passing away in the normal fashion, shinobi of her village performed one last jutsu, which was . . .

Meiou slid off her mother's lap as her mother put her hands together, and began to form the signs slowly. The child toddled over to Iruka-nii-san, turning to watch her mother in what she expected to be her mother's signature jutsu of vanishing in a small burst of white and gold light. Instead, blue eyes fell upon the slowly formed symbols and felt horror rise within her. While not a shinobi or even incredibly smart, she recognized the symbols from the times she'd seen her mother perform them at the funerals for those shinobi that passed away within the village. "NO!!!"

Nyoko did not stop using her hands, tears now trailing freely down her bloody and dirty face. "I love you Meiou."

"NO!!!!" Meiou tried to get back to her mother but strong hands held tightly onto her shoulders, "Mama!!!"

Starting at Nyoko's toes, and moving rapidly up her body, a series of white sparkles appeared and allowed Nyoko's body to disintegrate into sparkles, overcoming her body. Sad brown eyes were the last things to vanish before the sparkles completely disappeared.

"OKAASAN!!!!!!" Meiou screamed, dropping to her knees and sobbing, salty liquid flowing from her eyes down her cheeks with the same intensity of a rushing river. "OKAASAN!!!!"

The Hokage sighed and nodded to someone who'd just arrived, "Here," he handed the man with long flowing blonde hair the scroll. "You'll need this, Inoichi."

The man cracked it open and read rapidly before turning and gazing at the sobbing girl on the floor. Iruka was slowly rubbing her back as she sobbed into the floor. He ignored the Council Elders that were leaving, and the other Jounin as well. Sighing quietly to himself, the Yamanaka Clan Leader knelt in front of the girl and gently placed a large hand onto her head. Idly, he noted that it was now just himself, Iruka, the Hokage, and a few ANBU that he recognized, despite the masks. When he felt the girl's sobs quiet about five minutes later, he said quietly, "Please look at me."

Brilliant blue orbs stared into pale blue and Inoichi received a slight jolt of surprise. Meiou's face was similar to Ino's, and that fact melted the hard shinobi's heart just a bit. "Wh-who . . ."

"My name is Inoichi. I'm going to help you," he said gently.

"B-but . . ." Meiou looked over at Iruka, who nodded his head once.

"You can trust him Meiou," Iruka said, squeezing her shoulder.

Meiou looked back at the blonde stranger, who had put his hands together in a square shape. "Relax Meiou. I'm going to help you." His voice was soft. "Just relax . . . Meiou . . ."

"Meiou . . ." another voice was calling her now.

"Mmmm?"

"Meiou!"

With a jolt, the girl sat straight up, starring into the light blue eyes of her older brother . . . Naruto Uzumaki.

**So? Good? Bad? Crappy? Leave me a review, I love them.**


	2. Chapter 1

**All right, new chapter!!!!**

**This story is very interesting to me, mostly because it's partial canon and partial warped ideas that come from staying up until 3 AM when you've got classes at 9:30 AM and you have to walk across campus to get there with nothing but an iPod and are trying to avoid the cold winds of winter. **

**Also, I'm having difficulty with the pairings. If anyone thinks anything up, please leave me a review with which OC you'd like to see with which person. Thanks!**

**As a side note, Meiou's name is pronounced May-you. And yes, Naruto will be a bit OOC from Canon. In the Canon, only Iruka really cared for him, and probably the Third did too, but they didn't live with him 24/7. Since he's had someone to love him and be with him 24/7 . . . well, you get the idea.**

**Disclaimer: I only own Talon, Nanaki, Meiou, Meiou's back story and village and stuff, her Kekkai Genkai, and the semi warped plot that'll take a couple of chapters to get to. Other than that, I own NOTHING.**

**Chapter One**

The scare that she'd gotten from her dream last night was nothing to what she'd seen in Naruto's eyes when her elder brother had woke her up. His brilliant blue eyes were clouded with worry and concern for her, and underneath that, she thought she could see a spark of fear hidden among the usual good humor and cheer.

"Mei-chan," Naruto whispered, when she had flung her shaking form into his chest. Judging from what she'd briefly seen before she had moved up from her position on the bed, it was just past dawn, the warmth of the sun fleshing out the horizon in reds and golds that heralded the coming of a new day. She could vaguely hear the song birds native to Konoha singing among the plentiful trees lining the village streets and surrounding the gates. On the streets below, people were starting to emerge, opening their various places of merchandise for the consumer rush of mid-morning. Smells of the delicious kind drifted lazily into their single apartment room, allowing Meiou to regrasp reality as she huddled in her older brother's embrace. At this point, she'd moved from being twisted in their sheets to cowering on his lap, her hands griping the black t-shirt and burying her face into his strong chest. She felt him hug her tightly, until she stopped shaking and removed her death grip on him. "Mei-chan," he said again, using her precious nickname. "Are you all right?"

Meiou licked her lips nervously, nodding shakily. She knew she'd be pale – the twelve year old girl could just tell, from the way she suddenly felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded.

To focus her thoughts on something less disturbing than her dream, she looked over her brother. His blonde hair was messy, as usual this morning, and he was clad in his ninja sandals, his usual black t-shirt, and green boxers with teeny ramen bowls splashed everywhere. They'd been a gift from Meiou for his eleventh birthday, and he'd worn them a lot since then, declaring they were the best gift ever. His eyes were bright this morning, and he smiled as he lifted a warm hand to tuck a singular strand of snowy white hair behind her ear. "Good. C'mon Imouto, let's eat."

Meiou nodded silently, a small smile playing about her lips as she kicked the rest of the sheets off. She ran into their kitchen and splashed water on her hands and face before she began pulling two ramen cups out of the massive pile on the counter. The white haired girl placed them on the single table that looked like it had seen better days, and sat in the first matching chair as her brother took the kettle from the stove and poured the steaming hot water into the open ramen cups.

"Are you ready for today Naru-nii?" Meiou asked quietly.

Naruto shrugged and fixed her with a crooked smile, "I dunno Mei-chan. It's . . . gonna be a little tricky."

Meiou nodded, her own brilliant blue eyes darkening. She knew her brother. She knew he had potential and talent, and that for some reason, almost all the adults in the village, with the exception of Iruka-sensei and Hokage-sama, hated him. Their meager clothing, what they could get, usually came from sneaking into stores and taking what they could before they got caught. No one would sell them any clothing, or weapons, or most of anything really. Well, the old man at Ichiraku Ramen would always happily have a big hearty bowl of ramen for the two of them whenever they stopped by, usually after school or after Naruto was done serving detention for his pranks.

Meiou personally thought they were hilarious but not too many others saw it that way.

In fact, anytime they walked through the streets of Konoha, she could hear the whispers, the mumbles, and felt the sting of anger and rage anytime someone would glare angrily at her brother. What had he done?

It had always been this way though . . . Meiou tried to recall her earliest memories of herself and her brother. In fact, the first one she had . . .

_**Flashback:**_

"_Maa, Naru- nii! Wait up!" _

_A seven year old Naruto turned to the seven year old girl who was running behind him with a grin on his face and his hands behind his head. "Hurry up Mei-chan!!!!"_

_The girl stopped and placed her hands on her knees, bent over and huffed. "Naru-nii . . . sorry I had . . . to ask Mizuki-sensei a question . . ."_

"_It's cool Mei-chan," Naruto's grin didn't change. "Wanna go get some food?"_

"_Yeah!"_

_The two siblings walked down the paved streets, weaving in and out of people who were shopping or otherwise just walking about like they were. But as they walked, Meiou looked around, trying to be conscious of her environment as Iruka-sensei had taught them, but when she did . . ._

_The night air seemed to drop a few degrees when she realized people were glaring at her. Her once happy features smoothed into a frown – she hadn't done anything to them had she? She frantically searched her memory as she listened with half an ear to Naruto's incessant chattering about some chakra exercise or something . . ._

_She frowned deeper. Her little seven year old brain couldn't come up with anything she'd done to these people . . . so why were they glaring at her? It made her shudder, the anger on some faces much darker and larger than others._

"_Mou, Mei-chan, are you listening?" Naruto was looking back at his sister, a thoughtful concerned frown marring his usually happy face._

"_Ah, sorry aniki . . ." Meiou said apologetically, realizing she'd stopped some feet behind her brother as she stared at the glaring people._

_His eyes followed her expression as she nervously glanced around at the people glaring, and his face smoothed out, into something much worse than any angry face or expression she'd ever seen._

_A blank mask. _

_She stared at him. Meiou didn't like her Naru-niisan to frown, but this . . . this frightened the little seven year old. His face was so . . . uncaring, unfeeling, and it scared her down to her very core. Even his eyes, so expressive and lively, dimmed and looked a bit shinier, as though salty liquid was starting to build up inside of them. "Leave it alone Meiou."_

_Her eyes returned to his sharply, surprise and alarm present in them. He never called her by her full name unless he was really mad or very sad . . . and he didn't look mad or sad, not to mention his voice cut through her musings, like a hot kunai through butter. "But Naru-nii-"_

"_Leave. It," he all but growled, walking over to her and taking her hand, pulling her along and ignoring all the glares along the way._

_Meiou couldn't understand why he was so mad . . . why he was dragging her home. As soon as they were there, he locked the door, dragged her to the bed, and pulled her onto his lap, hugging her tightly and rocking back and forth slightly as he did so._

_Luckily, Meiou was able to work out that he was distressed and made small noises of comfort as he held her tightly, and they fell asleep just like that._

_**End Flashback**_

Meiou still, to this day, did not get what the glares were about. However, that didn't mean she would allow them to happen. In fact . . . that first time she went to the Academy, a year behind her brother . . .

_**Flashback:**_

_She had just sat down to eat lunch outside in the yard with the other children. She was still nervous – her brother was a year ahead of her and she didn't know anyone. At least, even though they had different lunch times and mostly different classes, they did get to observe the older class during weapons practice. _

_Entering the yard nervously, she saw a corner bathed in shadows by an old twisted and gnarled tree. She saw a stone bench under it, and since it was out of the way, decided to sit there to eat her lunch. Unfortunately, when she got there, she saw one boy from the older class sitting on the bench. He had brown spiky hair, and wore a large green coat over dark blue pants and ninja sandals. She couldn't see his eyes, they were covered by round black sunglasses._

"_Uhm . . . excuse me . . ." Meiou said softly, nervously. She saw the boy's head move a fraction of an inch in her direction. "I'm sorry to ask this, but do you mind if I sit here? If not, that's . . . that's okay . . ."_

_She felt rather than saw his eyes pierce her being, and she gripped the small paper sack tighter in her hands._

_After a brief silence period, the boy inclined his head once in a shallow nod, and Meiou smiled nervously, "Thank you . . . uhm . . ."_

" _. . . Aburame Shino."_

"_Aburame-san," Meiou said softly. "I'm Uzumaki Meiou."_

_She thought she saw him tense slightly, but did not say a word as she sat on the other side of the bench, close to the wall. Slowly, she opened the paper sack and pulled out an apple that was bruised and looked rather sad as far as apples went. Even the golden green skin, which was a typical trait of the apple, was pale and sickly looking. Meiou did not seem to notice and ate the apple slowly, enjoying the sweetness in spite of the skin and the fact that the apple seemed about two days from being rotten. Then, she placed the core back in her sack and closed it. Her apple had consumed the twenty five minute time period she was allotted and she saw many of her classmates start to move back into the building._

"_Arigato gozaimasu, Aburame-san," she said, bowing slightly to him as she hopped off the bench and was about to follow the others inside, when a scuffle across the yard caught her attention. _

"_God Naruterd, you're such a loser," said one annoying female voice._

_Meiou's eyes scanned the yard until she found her brother, sitting against the wall of the yard and a few girls surrounding him, and a couple of boys too._

_Her blood boiled when she saw him surrounded, and she silently opened her paper sack as she approached the little crowd. Pulling out her apple core, she took aim and threw the core, hard, and it smacked the head of the tallest girl, one with curly brown hair._

"_Hey!" It was the same annoying voice as earlier. The girl spun around and Meiou was satisfied to find squinty, watery brown eyes staring at her. Her brother's eyes were much nicer._

_Meiou ignored the girl for now, and walked through the loose circle to kneel in front of her brother, "Naru-nii?"_

_Naruto's head looked up quickly and blue locked with familiar blue. A smile broke over his face. "Mei-chan?"_

_Meiou grinned back. "Naru-nii, I need someone to walk me back to class."_

"_That loser couldn't find anything if it danced in front of him naked," another girl snorted._

_Meiou was on her feet and whirled around, white hair flailing out behind her as she felt her blood begin to boil again. "Stop it! My brother is not a loser!!!"_

"_And now the loser has a little harmless girl to help him?" One of the boys laughed and Meiou felt her eye twitching. Her little hands clenched into fists and she heard Naruto get up behind her._

"_Leave my sister out of this!"_

"_Aww, a family of dumb idiots sticks together, huh girls? I bet that's why they're orphans; their parents knew they were gonna be disgraces to their family." The girl Meiou had thrown her apple core at sneered and the others laughed. Even kids who weren't picking on them were laughing._

_Laughing at them, laughing with malice._

_Meiou's blood boiled over and she saw red._

_With a fierce scream, Meiou leapt onto the older brown haired girl and began viciously beating on her. Tiny fists clawed, pulled, grabbed, and hit anything on the older girl's body, who tried to respond in kind, but Meiou remembered from taijutsu class how to pin a larger opponent. She had adjusted her body so not to give the girl any leverage and continued screaming at her, random vague words that made no sense, swearing in tongues that didn't exist, beating this girl and wanting nothing more than to cause her pain and suffering for even daring to try to hurt her aniki, for speaking wrongly of her okaa-san and otou-san._

_Strong hands suddenly grabbed her and Meiou screamed again in rage and bit the hands that pulled her off. A man's voice swore but Meiou wasn't paying attention, leaping back onto the bruised form who was screaming for mercy, begging for help, and pleading for Meiou to stop._

"_DIE!" Meiou screamed to the suddenly silent courtyard. Many of the older kids and some of her classmates were watching in disbelief at the nervous girl who had barely said two words to anyone. "DIE!!!!"_

"_Kichigai!!!" The older girl yelled._

"_KONO AMA!!!" Meiou screamed, "KONO AMA!!!!"_

_The same strong hands tore her off the other girl, and held her even as she struggled._

"_Meiou!!!" Iruka's stern voice entered her thoughts. "Meiou!"_

_Slowly the red haze dissipated from her vision and she was left panting, staring at the girl and feeling her throat was sore. The older girl slowly got up, covered in bruises and claw marks from Meiou's little hands._

_Looking down at her hands, Meiou saw a shiny sticky red substances coating her fingers and hands. Blood._

_She began to shake as tears filled her eyes. What was wrong with her? What had happened?!_

"_Mei-chan?" asked a soft male voice. Meiou looked up from where she was suspended in Iruka's arms, a foot off the ground, and stared into worried blue eyes. Her brother looked a bit scared and very concerned._

_Meiou shook again and suddenly burst into tears. Iruka hesitantly let her go and she rushed over to Naruto, sobbing into his chest and holding on tightly to him._

_His arms encircled her and he was rubbing her hair and back in soothing motions, the way he did when she was sick two weeks ago and helped her get to sleep._

_She felt so tired . . . "Naru-nii?" she whispered, choking slightly._

"_Hai?"_

"_I-I . . ."_

_Naruto kissed the top of her head and held her closer. "I know."_

_**End Flashback**_

She'd gotten in a lot of trouble with Iruka-sensei, though when she explained her side of the story, he looked nothing but weary. She had gotten punished with detention and a bunch of menial tasks that were below many people, like scrubbing the classroom floors.

Still, her little display had taught the others something . . . she hoped, though when she asked Naruto about it, he gave her a weak smile and said that they'd always pick on him for something.

With a frown in place, Meiou had resolved to watch out for her brother. Another side affect? Her classmates skirted her and often wouldn't talk to her, which was fine. Every afternoon, she'd go out to the yard, sit under the same tree with Aburame-san, and eat her lunch, more often than not, horribly overpriced fruit that was barely worth a ryo, or some other type of food that just scraped her from malnutrition.

She slowly came out of her memories as Naruto slurped his ramen next to her, but she ate hers slowly as she recalled the one afternoon she'd sort of made a friend.

_**Flashback:**_

"_Konnichiwa, Aburame-san," Meiou said as she took her usual place next to him. Some days, he would acknowledge her presence, others, he wouldn't do anything. He never spoke to her, which was fine with Meiou – she wasn't exactly sure how to interact with people._

"_Uzumaki-san," he said suddenly, and his voice nearly startled her into dropping her apple._

"_Erm, yes Aburame-san?" Meiou asked softly, shyly. She shifted to twit her upper body to look at him._

_He had turned his head to observe her. "Why did you attack Hapitsu Chyo?"_

"_Attack . . .?" Meiou frowned, before recalling her incident three months ago. Her frown grew deeper, "She insulted my 'nii-san. She insulted my okaa-san and otou-san too."_

_Aburame-san observed her, and again she felt rather than saw his gaze pierce through her. "So she provoked you and you attacked?"_

"_Uh, yeah I guess . . ." Meiou blinked. "May I ask why Aburame-san?"_

_He was silent for a long time before he spoke again, "I do not understand your defense of Uzumaki Naruto."_

_Meiou couldn't have been more confused. He didn't understand? "Aburame-san, Naruto is my brother. I've lived with him my whole life. I love him so dearly," her features darkened. "So many people in this village . . . I don't get why, but so many people seem to hate my brother for no reason. Yes, he's a prankster, but he does it for fun, not to harm anyone. It doesn't make sense for people to glare at him when he walks down the street . . . in fact, nothing makes sense in our life, but I was just so tired of him being hurt, of people trying to purposefully hurt him, that I guess I went a little crazy . . . I snapped," Meiou wound down awkwardly. "Uhm . . . does that help Aburame-san?"_

_He inclined his head in the same manner as usual and Meiou began to eat her apple._

"_I notice that you always bring fruit that looks . . . unhealthy," Aburame-san spoke again. "Why?"_

"_It's all my brother and I can get," Meiou said simply. "That illogical hate thing again, but my brother and I can't get much. We have to save anything we can find just to scrap together some clothes and maybe a nice treat at Ichiraku's every once in a while. I walk into the grocery store and people just . . ."Meiou shook her head. "Never mind. It's not important Aburame-san."_

"_Shino."_

_Meiou turned to look at him, finding he was still looking at her. She held his gaze, or she hoped she did, before smiling that smile that always happened around her brother, and nodded, "Meiou."_

_She thought she saw the edge of his mouth quirk up over his collar, but it was impossible to tell as he inclined his head deeper than normal. "Meiou-san."_

"_Shino-san."_

_**End Flashback**_

Shino was nice, Meiou mused as she finished her ramen and tossed it out with her brother's cup. Her brother was already getting dressed so Meiou quickly followed suit. Meiou's thoughts returned to her one, well maybe not friend, but acquaintance, and she couldn't help the smile that quirked over her lips. For the past three years, she'd been sitting with Shino outside for lunch, and they had just talked about random things. Sometimes he'd ask her a question, and she'd answer, but she tried to respect his privacy and just asked him surface questions. She kinda got the feeling that he was a reserved person and didn't want to overstep her bounds. But still, she'd found that Shino was in her brother's class, though apparently, their class was so big they'd been separated into two classrooms. That's why Shino was always at lunch with her.

One time she'd jokingly made the comment that he'd be bored if she wasn't there to brighten his day, in her soft shy voice. He didn't say anything, simply turned slowly to look at her. She hadn't known that she could turn so red, and she was kicking herself that she'd even said anything. Meiou had been about to apologize and take it back, but she was sure this time that his lips had quirked above his tall collar as he said, "You're right, of course Meiou-san."

Needless to say, she'd been happy the rest of the day, and had made dinner, a nice home cooked dinner for her brother.

"Mei-chan!" Naruto said frantically, "Stop thinking and help me find my goggles!!!"

* * *

At the Academy, Meiou squeezed her brother's hand, "Okay Naru-nii. Good luck! I know you'll do it this time."

He gave her that crooked smile, the one that said he wasn't sure but he'd go along with it, and nodded firmly. "Bye Mei-chan. You better do well too."

Meiou gave her brother his favorite confident grin, but on the inside, she was shaking, "Of course Naru-nii. We'll be Genin together." She waved her brother off and her smile dimmed severely as she turned down the hall to her own room.

She entered her classroom with a smile on her face, and she noticed quite a few whispers as she did so. Frowning, the now twelve year old made an attempt to ignore them, sitting calmly instead beside the blue haired boy who'd been her partner for the last year. He was an Aburame, and she had learned, through questioning, that he was the younger cousin to Shino-san, her constant lunch companion. For the past year, in fact, Aburame Nanaki had joined them, sitting just as quietly as his older relative. Meiou was sometimes unnerved by the silence, but it was okay, she reasoned, because sometimes they'd ask her questions, mostly about the fruit she'd eat for lunch that day. The conversation with Shino, the first time he'd told her to call him by his first name, had been repeated only once to Nanaki. Thankfully, Nanaki was slightly warmer than Shino and had been a bit more open towards the young white haired girl. She could semi-decipher his body language now, but Shino was still somewhat of a mystery.

Nanaki inclined his head in her direction as she sat down, "Good morning Meiou-san."

Meiou gave him a weak, nervous grin, "Hi Nanaki-san. Ready to do this?"

"Indeed. We will now become Genin, and enter the true world of the shinobi," Nanaki stated gravely and Meiou's lips twitched into a wider, warmer smile. His gravity was sometimes exactly what she needed to make her smile again.

"True," Meiou's eyes zoned out slightly as the rest of the class chattered excitedly.

Nanaki observed her for a moment, before his quiet voice was heard again, "You are worried for your brother."

Meiou's smile didn't leave her lips, though her eyes cleared, "Am I that transparent Nanaki-san?"

"Only to one who knows the depths of your caring nature towards your brother."

"So everyone then?" Amusement filtered into her voice.

She swore she saw the corners of his lips quirk above his favorite dark brown jacket that was almost identical to his older cousin's, "Yes."

Meiou giggled a bit and grinned, "I don't think I need to say this Nanaki-san. But good luck."

"The sentiment is understandable," Nanaki replied. "I . . . wish you luck as well."

Meiou giggled again. Both Shino and Nanaki valued their logic and they could sometimes not understand her emotional babble, as she tended to do when she answered a question. She was certain it drove him up the wall sometimes, but Nanaki was making an effort to bridge the gap between them, whereas Shino simply would brush it off. She was glad, she'd made sort of friends at least in her time here.

Her countenance darkened as she thought of how the majority of her brother's class treated her brother. Well . . . hopefully her stories of her brother to her semi-friends, the Aburame cousins, would help at least two new people understand that Naruto wasn't as bad as all the adults wanted him to be, if their glares were any indication.

"All right, students, it's exam time!" Their sensei was an elderly woman, with pretty red hair and burning brown eyes. "We'll start in alphabetical order. Aburame, you're first."

I gave him a thumbs up as he got out of his seat, "You can do it Nanaki-san!"

Nanaki paused, looked over his shoulder at me, and then nodded once before he entered the exam room.

**=+=+=(Meiou's POV)+=+=+=+ **

My stomach dropped as I came out of the Academy later that afternoon. The sun was already moving to the western part of the sky, past midday, and the warm orange rays shone on the yard of the Academy. Many parents were proudly hugging their new Genin, and I spotted Nanaki and Shino both standing near a dark haired man who was obviously their father. Nanaki seemed to sense my gaze because he turned his sunglasses in my direction. I hoped I met his gaze and gave him another weak smile, clutching the accursed result in my hand. The blue fabric was soft and the engraved metal pressing into my palm was cold to the touch.

His hitai-ate flashed in the late afternoon sun, placed firmly upon his brow, just like his cousin's.

I imagined him cocking an eyebrow questioningly and sure enough, saw his head tip to the right ever so slightly. I knew my eyes dimmed and my mouth sagged into a frown as I shook my head and broke eye contact with him.

I had already known . . . somehow I had just known as soon as I stepped outside. My blue eyes carefully turned towards the shadows of the large tree in the corner of the yard, where a small swing hung from the old branches. There, sticking out despite trying to blend in, was the orange jumpsuit of my brother. His dejected body language as he watched the other kids was apparent, and I began to hear whispers of parents as they spotted my brother as well. My eyes flashed angrily and I pushed forward, rudely shoving kids and parents alike aside to reach my brother.

"I bet she denounces him right now," one gleeful malicious female voice whispered.

I froze for nearly a second before I continued, reaching the shadows and sitting down by his leg. "Hey Naru-nii."

He didn't seem to hear me, but that was okay. I knew how to handle silence, mostly because Shino-san and Nanaki-san were as quiet as he was right now.

When he did speak, his voice was low and rough, "You too, Meiou?"

I turned to look at him and saw that scary blankness in his eyes that had frightened her when she was little more than seven. I knew that shinobi needed to guard their emotions but this . . . this look in his eye . . . where was my brother?

Seeing his gaze go to that stupid headband in my right hand, I frowned and gripped it tighter, "I'm not wearing it."

"I can see that," the dryness and cynical edge within it didn't suit him.

"No, I meant I'm not going to."

Silence.

His eyes looked into mine and I let him see the simple truth in his eyes. His lips turned into a frown and I didn't like that expression anymore than his scary blank eyes or his dry cynical voice, "Why?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, you're my brother. I love you, and I became a kunoichi to help you realize your dream of being Hokage," I said seriously, aware of the fact that people were leaving while giving us disgusted glares. "I can't do that until you're a Genin – so I won't be one until you are too."

After saying that, I had to look down and away. I loved my brother, but this mushy stuff, for a twelve year old girl . . . it was a little embarrassing. I had become a full fledged tomboy in my time at the academy, and sometimes I couldn't help but feel weird when things got affectionate between me and my brother. Of course, I would always stick close to him. Still . . .

"Meiou," my brother's hand gently stroked the top of my hair, and I my eyelids sank until my eyes were half open. I liked it when he petted my head. It was unusually soothing and relaxing to myself. "I don't . . . I don't want . . ."

"No Naruto, I want this," I cut across him, despite my voice being drowsy and filled with contentment, "Now, none of this, or else I'm going to Ichiraku's alone tonight."

"Mou, mou," Naruto said quickly, "I'll be good."

Grinning, I stood and held out a hand. "Great – let's go, I'm starved."

**=+=+=+(Normal POV)=+=+=+**

It was later that night when she woke up. Her eyes fluttered open and she could tell from the small patch of sky she saw out of the corner of her eye that it was still dark. The moon was shining brightly but it seemed to bear a message of foreboding. The stars shone brightly and all was silent in the village beneath her window. A quiet summer zephyr whistled into the room, dancing and playing with the thin sheets and blanket that had been a gift from Iruka-sensei a month ago for her birthday. She yawned and turned over, looking for the dark form of her brother to snuggles with (yes, she was a snuggler).

When she rolled over, he wasn't there. Figuring he'd just gone to the bathroom, she closed her eyes again, trying to sleep. A niggling prick in the back of her head wouldn't let her, however. It forced her to open her eyes and realize her brother's side of the bed was cool to the touch. A small amount of residual heat was there, from where they'd gone to sleep a few hours after their meal at Ichiraku's. She'd gone ahead home after her second bowl, saying she was tired and even though it was still early, she wanted to sleep. Naruto had come home later than she expected, about an hour and a half afterwards. When she asked where he'd been, he gave a vague answer that didn't satisfy her curiosity, but he was in bed and asleep before she could question him more.

A frown worked its way onto her lips as she sat up, clothed only in her short white shorts and the white t-shirt with a bowl of ramen on it, something she'd stolen from Naruto and which he enjoyed seeing her wear because it had his favorite food on it.

This was strange – she couldn't see any sign of Naruto in the house . . . and when she placed her feet on the floor, saw only one pair of ninja sandals that belong to her.

A feeling of gut wrenching panic wormed its way into her gut and she hurriedly pulled on her shuriken pouch and threw her house key in it, locking the door before she ran off into the night.

* * *

"Naru-nii!" Meiou's voice rang off the tall trees. "Naru-nii!!! Where are you?"

She had panicked after not seeing her brother dashing about on the roofs, on top of Hokage mountain, or wandering the streets. Her panic had kicked up a notch when she saw several armed-to-the-teeth Jounin suddenly pour from the Hokage's office in the tower. Something inside her said it had something to do with her brother, and so she had wheeled around and fled to just outside the gates of Konoha, where a large forest and the training grounds made their homes.

Now, she was running through the forest, screaming her brother's name, desperate to find him. "Naru-nii!! It's me, Mei-chan!!!"

"Mei-chan?" called a voice to her right, "Mei-chan, over here!!!"

Meiou didn't stop running as she veered off sharply, racing through the floor's foliage, scratching herself on sharp branches from bushes and stepping on large pointy stones and tripping over ancient gnarled roots rising from the ground and shoving dangling tree branches out of her way. "Naru-nii?!"

Finally she broke through into a clearing with a tiny wooden hut inside it. Her brother was there, looking tired, scratched up and bruised, but otherwise, extremely pleased and happy.

"Mei-chan!" He glomped her in a crushing hug, "You'll never guess, I've finally mastered it!"

"Mastered what?" she asked, pulling out of the hug she had participated in every bit as he.

"Well . . . I mean if you'd shown up later I could've mastered more probably . . ." He had a slightly pouting look on his face, and that was when she noticed the large scroll laying open on the ground.

"Oh . . ." Naruto turned and picked up the scroll, rolling it tightly and placing it on his back. "That's the scroll that has that technique I mastered!"

"Naruto!!!" came the angered voice of Iruka-sensei. "What in Kami's name were you thinking?!"

"Ha! I finally found you Iruka-sensei!!!" Naruto pointed at the man, who in return yelled that he had found Naruto, not the other way around.

"Well, anyways, these techniques . . . I'd never dreamed! But like I told Mei-chan, it's a shame you guys came so soon, I've only mastered the one technique. But if I do it, you let me graduate 'kay?" Naruto looked excited.

Meiou saw the look of confusion pass across her sensei's face, "You were training . . .?"

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, "Meiou said she became a shinobi to help me reach my dream to be Hokage, and she wouldn't wear her headband until I became a Genin too. So, after she went home, Mizuki-sensei found me and I told him what she said. Then he said if I got this scroll and mastered what's inside, you'd let me graduate!"

She saw Iruka's face tense in more confusion and then he suddenly shoved both her and Naruto out of the way. A few dozen kunai slammed into his body and against the wall of the teeny wooden cabin behind them. "Iruka-sensei!" She cried, getting up with Naruto. Her eyes turned and she saw Naruto's head turn too.

"Nicely done, Iruka. Now Naruto," Mizuki-sensei was crouched on a branch above them. "Give me the scroll."

"Wh-what?" Naruto asked hoarsely, and Meiou didn't blame him. She was just as confused.

"Naruto, whatever happens, don't give him the scroll!" Iruka said as he removed one of the bloody kunai from his shoulder. "That's a dangerous scroll filled with forbidden ninjutsu! Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

"He . . . used . . .?" Meiou felt cold numbness slip into her heart as she processed the meaning of that statement. Their sensei had . . . had . . . what?

"There's no point in you having Naruto. I'm gonna tell you the truth," Mizuki smirked.

"NO! DON'T!" Iruka shouted, but Meiou cut in, grasping her brother's hand tightly as she came to stand beside it.

"Mizuki . . . is it the reason why everyone glares at me and my brother everywhere we go?" She asked bravely, her voice unwavering despite how hollow it sounded.

"Yeah. You're a sharp one, little girl. See, twelve years ago . . . you guys know about the demon fox, Kyuubi, being sealed away?" Mizuki sneered and Meiou gripped her brother's hand tighter. He was preparing to strike again, but who he'd strike she didn't know. She could feel her body tense and her muscles freeze as her flight instincts came out to play.

"So?" Meiou snapped.

"Since that day, a special rule was created for our village . . ." His voice was growing darker, nothing like the kind one he'd manipulated during his time as their teacher.

"A . . . a rule?" Naruto questioned.

"But, this rule was never meant to be told to you," a nasty smile had crossed his face, and Meiou suddenly felt very cold as a wave of something dangerous swept over her. It was killing intent, she realized.

"Not to me?!" Naruto suddenly burst, and she could feel his desire to know mixed with a growing sense of despair and horror run through his body, "What is this rule?! TELL ME!!"

Mizuki only chuckled in a malevolent way, a way that was dark and unsettling to the young girl and her brother.

"What . . . kind of rule?" She could hear a low snarl in her brother's voice.

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that YOU are the nine-tailed fox!"

The world dropped out from under her feet and she felt all feeling drain from her body. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, the way she did when she went against her brother's incredible stamina when they sparred after school by themselves. She could swear the forest was spinning and she swore Mizuki's smile grew even more sinister.

"Wh-what?" she whispered, even as Naruto gripped her hand tighter, and echoed her stunned whisper.

"Yes Naruto," Mizuki chuckled wickedly.

"STOP IT!!" Iruka shouted.

Mizuki ignored him, "You are the nine-tailed fox that attacked our village twelve years ago, the one who destroyed Iruka's parents!"

"You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire," Mizuki continued, and his tone had turned full of loathing and pure darkness, something that made Meiou shiver even as her eyes filled to the brim with tears of horror.

"STOP IT!" Iruka screamed, but Mizuki wasn't finished.

"And you were lied to by everyone!" He said, his eyes glinted with insanity and hunger, wanting to feed off of Naruto's and Meiou's anguish.

"Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you?" Mizuki spoke only to Naruto now.

Naruto jerked his hand away from Meiou, shoving her down. His chakra was growing rapidly as his eyes shut tight and she saw glimmers of salt water run from his eyes. Her own tears were flowing rapidly down her face as she stared at her brother, the one who looked ready to kill.

"IRUKA IS THE SAME!" Mizuki had finally given in to his insanity, "HE ALSO HATES YOU!" He pulled that huge shuriken off his back and whirled it, ready to throw it to kill.

"NARUTO!" Meiou screamed, watching in alarm as his chakra became visible.

"NOBODY WILL EVER LOVE YOU!"

Meiou felt her heart clench in pain, remembering all the funny moments that endeared her, remembering all the times he was picked on in school, remembering the time he had pushed those mean girls away from her on the playground when they were eight and those girls had been pulling on her hair . . . the times she went to sleep with a smile on her face as her brother told her goofy fairytales, the times she saw him determined to be a shinobi . . . him standing proudly as she was accepted into the Academy . . .

"THAT SCROLL WAS USED TO SEAL YOU UP!" Mizuki hurled the shuriken.

Everything went deadly quiet and time seemed to slow down to a crawl. She saw the hurled weapon fly through the air . . . saw her brother directly in his path. All she heard was her pounding heartbeat as the four pointed star came flying closer and closer . . .

And she had never felt so terrified or useless in her life.

She closed her eyes tightly, "NARUTO!!!!"

SPLAT!

Her eyes opened at the sound, desperately searching for what she was sure would be her brother's lifeless still-warm corpse falling to the ground.

Instead, she saw Iruka had pushed her brother out of the way and was over top of him, the shuriken embedded in his back. He spoke lowly and quietly, though she could see tears on his face too. His words reached her ears somehow, and she heard clearly what he said to Naruto. His heartfelt apology, his true meaning words, everything.

But a shadowed look fell across Naruto's eyes, and he was up and running, not even looking at his sister. "Naruto!" Iruka yelled. His eyes snapped to hers, "Meiou, go after him!"

Meiou nodded once, ignoring Mizuki dropping from the tree to taunt Iruka, and raced in the same direction her brother went.

She finally found her brother sitting in the clutches of the roots of another old tree, holding tightly the scroll he'd taken.

"Naru-nii?" she whispered, and his eyes turned up.

But they weren't the warm loving eyes of her brother – they were cold and hard, like ice. "Go away."

"Naruto . . ." Meiou came closer.

"DON'T!" He yelled at her, eyes forbidding her from coming closer. "STAY AWAY FROM ME YOU . . . . YOU . . ."

"Bitch?" She supplied quietly, feeling her eyes water up. This . . . really hurt. It was scraping away at her heart, having her beloved brother look at her like he was.

He snarled, an unintelligible sound that nearly sent her scurrying away.

"Naruto . . . Aniki, listen to me," she whispered. "Please . . . just hear me out . . ."

He glared daggers at her, but didn't say anything.

She inhaled and then exhaled, pulling from her shuriken pouch something that she knew might set him on edge.

He growled when he saw the blue headband. "Come to lord it over me, _Imouto_?"

She winced at the venom in his words. "No." She tossed the headband in front of him. "You can have it."

"I don't need your pity," he snarled.

She stared him in the eyes, "This isn't pity Naruto-nii-chan. This is something you've long deserved." She inhaled and exhaled, "Naruto . . . look at me."

His glare intensified, "I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were," she said quietly, "Naruto . . . you and I are related." She stepped closer, ignoring his growls, and squeezed one of her more vicious cuts she'd obtained in her mad desperate dash through the forest earlier. When the blood bubbled up, she wiped it in the palm of her hand and held it out, "We're brother and sister Naru-nii . . . we've got the same blood running through our veins. I've been with you since birth, and I have to tell you something important."

Naruto was starring now, no more glaring and no more ice, just confusion.

"I love you Naruto. I love you and I don't care what anyone else says. They see what they want to see," Meiou shrugged. "But I see a powerful promising twelve year old boy, my brother, the person who makes me laugh and holds me when I'm scared and pets my head and eats ramen with me and tells me silly fairytales to help me sleep . . . my brother, the one who loves me too, who makes sure that the bullies don't push me around and the one who always knows how to make me smile and feel safe."

Naruto stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, before a loud thud entered the small clearing just beyond their tree. When understanding dawned, Meiou smiled, and he thrust the scroll slightly to the side so he could grab her and pull her closer, hugging her tightly and burying his nose in her neck, just feeling her warmth and her love, and smelling her woodsy scent. She did the same, pouring her love into her hug and murmuring soothing nothings into his ear. Naruto, she noticed as she inhaled his scent, smelled like spices, the kind she often found in ramen. It combined with a heady scent of fresh air and something that Meiou decided to label wind, for it was fresh and clean despite the condition his body was in.

But voices followed the thump and broke into the sibling's joyous reconciliation. As she listened to Mizuki's accusations of her brother, something different welled up inside her, a sort of anger she'd never experienced before, except that one time when she beat up that older girl for picking on her brother. It caused her to see the world through a thin haze of red, but then Iruka's words stopped her in her tracks, clearing up her vision in no time.

The tears that ran down Naruto's dirty skin spoke volumes to her, and she stood up, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet.

Hearing Mizuki's threat only urged her and Naruto to move from behind their tree, and Naruto nearly snarled aloud when he saw Mizuki so close to Iruka. Both he and Meiou raced forward, and he leapt, head butting Mizuki in the gut as Meiou ran over to their sensei. She knelt next to him, "Don't worry sensei," she gave him a small soothing smile. "I gotcha now." She reached down and tore strips of cloth off her t-shirt and began to wrap his wounds, basic first-aid she'd learned from helping Naruto with his pranks (he'd usually get one or two nasty scrapes). It wasn't the best job, actually it was quite clumsy, but she'd wrapped his shoulder injury as best she could.

Meanwhile, Naruto was threatening Mizuki, "If you ever lay a hand on my sensei again, I'll kill you!"

Mizuki got up and grinned wickedly at Naruto, "I'll kill you in one shot, demon fox!"

"Just try it," Naruto growled, putting his hands together in a hand sign, "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!"

Meiou's eyes widened in surprise as a thousand Narutos filled the clearing. There were so many and she could tell by Iruka's face that he wasn't expecting it either.

She remembered Mizuki's face though, white, pale, full of terror and his eyes as wide as a rabbit cornered by a fox.

Which, in all seriousness, he was.

"I'll start," the original said, a strange gleam entering his pure blue eyes.

With that, the forest was filled with screams as Naruto ordered his clones to attack.

Meiou was awestruck a few hours later, as the sun rose into the air and broke the night apart. Mizuki lay twitching on the ground, nothing more than broken bones and bruises, and Naruto looked as though he'd just been through a simple stretching routine with her!

She turned her attention away from Mizuki to Iruka, who was observing the whole thing, now at least, with something that seemed like amusement and pride.

"Come here Naruto," he said finally, "And close your eyes. You too Meiou," he added in the girl's direction.

Both pre-teen shut their eyes willingly, and then heard Iruka's grin as he said, "Okay, now open them."

Meiou's eyes wandered to Naruto and her eyes widened for the millionth time in the past few hours.

Sitting proudly on Naruto's forehead, looking sharp against his sun kissed skin and blonde hair, shining in the new day's light, was Iruka's hitai-ate.

"Congratulations . . . graduate."

Now that the hellish nightmare was over, Meiou felt blessed to know her brother. She grinned at him when he teared up and ran behind the tree they'd hidden by earlier, picking up her own hitai-ate and tying it on her forehead, grinning in delight.

"We did it Naru-nii-chan!!!" Meiou cried, hugging her brother as he hugged her back, laughing. "We're shinobi of the Leaf Village!"

Both pre-teens laughed, and the rest of the day was spent with Iruka, including a hearty dinner of ramen at the place of choice for Naruto, Ichiraku Ramen.

* * *

**And that's the second chapter, finished. The third might be a long time in coming, but rest assured I will work on it whenever there's time.**

**Also, I need help deciding the pairings – please suggest some for Meiou, Nanaki, and eventually, Talon Inuzuka.**

**Please review! Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Drache: And here's the next chapter! I'm sorry it took so long, but y'know, sometimes college REALLY sucks . . . well that and lack of motivation. I swear instead of Kiba, Naruto, or Hinata in the character tests, I should be fricken Shikamaru. **

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Naruto . . . If I did, half those boys would be shirtless all the time . . . Excuse me as I drool . . . Also, I DO NOT own Razen Kumara-sensei. He belongs to a friend of mine who graciously agreed to help me out with this story. **

**0=0=0=0=0=((Meiou's POV))0=0=0=0=0=0=0**

The morning after all that action in the woods, I was up early, rising in a cold sweat that would've had the Kyuubi inside my brother shivering. I could feel myself shaking nervously as I slowly slid from the bed, untwining the sheets from around my legs, and hesitantly removing myself from my brother's side. He mumbled something and rolled over, splaying his arms and legs across the mattress, a goofy smile painting his lips as he mumbled again before falling back into a deep restorative slumber.

I quietly padded across the cool wooden floor on bare feet, not flinching as I entered the even colder tiled floor of our teeny bathroom. I spared a glance out the nearly nonexistent bathroom window – the false grey color that heralded the dawn had yet to spread from the horizon, and so I safely assumed it was only about five in the morning. My piercing blue gaze turned from the breathtaking night sky to the tiny mirror above a cracked and somewhat dingy ivory porcelain sink. My reflection gazed back at me, pale as the weak winter sunshine in Snow Country. Small, nearly unnoticeable dark circles rimmed my bottom eyelashes, and I cursed quietly.

I had, once again, the same dream that I'd had two night ago . . . but there was more to it this time. I recalled being the little four year old girl that followed her older brother around adoringly, watching in fascination at his graceful movements and trying to copy that fluency into my own clumsy childish movements . . . no, no, not mine, that strange little girl's.

I breathed in deeply and griped the sink tightly, my tired vision swimming furiously in front of me as I tried to focus my attention. I wasn't the little girl in my dreams-it simply wasn't possible. I wasn't that little girl; I was Uzumaki Meiou, little sister to Konoha's future Hokage, and his best friend co-incidentally.

A few more deep breaths helped my vision to stop rippling in front of my eyes and I glanced in the mirror once more wearily. My hair was a mess, the snowy white strands hanging in front of my eyes, cascading from the top of my skull, like a waterfall, to my waist, the tips brushing the top of my bottom. Slowly, I removed my grip from the sink and swallowed, glancing outside again. I could faintly make out the line of pink on the horizon to the east, and so moved back to the bed.

As I made my way back to the bed, I couldn't help but smile at the sight of my brother. He had curled onto his side again, his face peaceful and even. There was no hint of his usual smile, or the fake one he put on in the Academy. There was no scary blankness or fierce protectiveness. For right now, these few precious moments, he was just Naruto . . . just my brother.

I leaned down and kissed his forehead, sitting on the bed and then snuggling quietly against him when he rolled over, his arms pulling me closer against him in his sleep, protecting me even unconsciously. I smiled sleepily as I felt a burst of contentment well up in my chest, chasing away the cold sweat the strange dreams had brought. As I drifted back off to sleep, I whispered, "I love you Naru-nii . . ."

* * *

Three days later, I swallowed nervously when Naruto gripped my hand and pulled me into the Academy. I was wearing my usual outfit – white pants made of a soft cotton blend material, my dark blue ninja sandals, a kunai pouch that was worn a threadbare and a faded color of navy blue strapped to my upper right thigh, and a light cotton white long sleeved t-shirt. My new ninja headband was tightened securely onto my left upper arm, near the shoulder, and I had specifically tightened my hair into its usual long braid. I took extra care this time to make sure no stray locks were falling out of the braid, because if we were to spar with our new teammates today . . . Well, I didn't want my hair to get into my eyes and cause me to lose the fight.

I absentmindedly sat next to my brother, who sat on the end of the row. I sat in between him and another student, the dark, brooding, mysterious Uchiha Sasuke.

I never understood the attraction to the boy. He brooded way too much and something within me just generally shied away from the boy. I wasn't sure what it was – actually, I wasn't ever sure what drove me to avoid people in general. I shrugged that thought away and glanced out of the corner of my eye at Uchiha-san.

A frowned quirked my lips. I just didn't get what the fuss was about – he was a boy, so what?

My Naru-nii was, in my opinion, a much better person to be friends with. So why did girls like Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura spurn my brother to be with quiet and unappealing people like Uchiha?

A tiny voice in my head said Shino and his cousin Nanaki were very similar to Uchiha-san . . . but I refused to listen. Shino and his cousin were quite because they preferred to observe the situation around them – not because they were brooding. It was strange that girls didn't like them; they were nice and I thought they made better friends than the Uchiha . . .

I shook my head. I would probably never understand what made those girls tick.

I heard my older brother's voice and turned my head, to see the lazy class member Nara Shikamaru gazing at my brother with a bit of confusion and that general apatheticness that the class was used to from the lazy Nara boy.

"Yup, looks like we'll be training together!" Naruto grinned, his hand still adjusting his hitai-ate on his brow.

Nara-san raised an eyebrow and then his dark eyes slid to me. I greeted him with a polite nod and a small polite smile, the kind my brother wore that time when I was eight and got really bad food poisoning from that peanut butter sandwich picnic we went on earlier in the day; I ended up in the hospital and I had been vomiting so much and with such a high fever. When I faded in and out of consciousness, my brother would give me that same smile, to hide his sorrow and concern and desperate worry that I felt rolling off him in waves.

It was that kind of smile – the one that hid what you were thinking.

I wasn't as good at it as my brother was, but I guessed it fooled Nara Shikamaru, because he gave me a nod in response to my polite greeting and went to sit in the back of the room with Akimichi Choji.

I heard the door open suddenly and in came Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. They seemed to be having a glaring match, and I was suddenly struck with the fact that I was sitting where most of the girls wanted to be. Just as suddenly came a vindictive sense of satisfaction and glee, at the thought that this might be a little payback for how they treated my brother over the years.

I was horrified by that train of thought, and those strange feelings, and shoved them aside, pushing them down and away until I was certain they didn't exist, and then breathed in deeply and sighed outwards.

"Mei-chan?" Naruto looked over at me. "You okay?"

I gave my brother another smile, different from the one I'd given Nara-san. It was a small affectionate one, "Of course Naru-nii. Just . . . excited I guess."

"Everything's gonna be fine Mei-chan," Naruto grinned. "Believe it!"

I giggled at his catch phrase and his grin grew brighter. He didn't notice Haruno-san glaring at his head until she coughed pointedly and we both looked at her.

She gave us a glare, "Excuse me, but _I'd_ like to sit next to Sasuke-kun."

I frowned, and looked to my left. Unfortunately, there was no other seat, and Uchiha-san wasn't even paying any attention to Haruno-san. Quietly, I stared at him for a few seconds, before I shook my head and turned back to Haruno-san, "I want to sit next to my brother Haruno-san. I apologize, but I will not move."

Hey! I sounded kinda like Shino-kun or Nanaki-kun (of course, I only called them 'kun' in my thoughts; I considered them my friends but if they did not also consider me as such, I didn't want them to feel pressured to feel the same). I bet they'd find it amusing . . .

And so they did. I heard a pair of short, low chuckles behind me, nearly inaudible and over in possibly half a second. Still, it was enough for me to shift around to face the previously empty desks behind me; sure enough, sitting on the wooden bench behind me, were Shino and Nanaki.

I grinned at them, forgetting the angry petal haired female that grumbled to herself and stomped away, "Ohayo gozaimasu, Shino-san, Nanaki-san."

Naruto turned and greeted them both with a cheery grin and a wave, "Hey Shino-san, Nanaki-san."

They both nodded to Naruto and Nanaki gave me a small smile, if the corners of his lips above his collar were any indication, while Shino nodded his head deeper to me than to Naruto.

It still made me think funny thoughts – the fact that Nanaki and Shino had, not less than three years ago, shared the same wicked prejudice (well, I hardly doubt they knew the reason, but still) that everyone else in the village held. Yet, day by day, as I sat with them for lunch, and shared amusing stories of my brother and myself, and just small happy times that made me smile warmly, I seemed to break through that layer . . . or at least, I destroyed the barrier that was keeping them from making the same bonds they held with me with my brother.

_Two down_, I thought, _and the rest of Konoha to go._

I was broken from my reminiscing by Nanaki's low, smooth voice, "You are well this morning, Meiou-san?"

Before I could respond, my brother gave Nanaki another grin, and squeezed my shoulder, "Mei-chan's a bit nervous, Nanaki-san, but she's okay."

"I'm not nervous!" I protested, even as my hand came up to squeeze my brother's for reassurance. "I'm just, uh, excited!"

Naruto shook his head, blue eyes twinkling, "Of course you are Mei-chan."

I promptly pouted and crossed my arms across my chest, "Hmph."

I know I saw Nanaki's lips twitch again, though Shino seemed to be solely observing our interactions with one another. I glanced at the younger Aburame, "Glad I can humor you," I said sourly.

Shino cut in before anyone else could, "You make our day brighter Meiou-san; of course you amuse us."

I was pretty sure Naruto's jaw dropped open, but my wide eyes weren't much better, "Ano, Shino-san . . . did you just make a joke?"

Nanaki nodded gravely, "Itoko has a sense of humor Meiou-san."

I just gave Shino a big smile, the kind I gave Naruto when we got done with a tickle fight. Naruto said it made my eyes look happy, and so I usually saved these smiles for my special people. Both Aburames and my brother were all that was included on that list (of course, the Sandaime Hokage (ojii-san!) and Iruka-sensei were also on that list, but otherwise it was a pretty short list). When Naruto had turned back around at the sound of Iruka-sensei entering the classroom, I said softly to Shino, "I'm . . ." I hesitated, and then spit the rest of it out, "I'm glad to know that." I could feel my cheeks heat up and I turned back around and ducked my head to hide my cheeks. Why had I said that? I just meant that I was glad he'd shared that with me, since Shino wasn't the joking type, and I probably botched it all up.

I bit my lip nervously, only half paying attention as Iruka-sensei explained we were being split up into three-man cells. _What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore because I said that?_

Naruto gently squeezed my hand under the table and I turned to look at him. He grinned his widest, silliest grin at me and I felt my lips shape in response to it. He turned back forward and I did too, hearing Iruka-sensei rattle off names.

"Team Six. Inuzuka Talon, Aburame Nanaki, and Uzumaki Meiou."

My heart beat faster, I felt my nerves soar. I knew Nanaki as a friend, but this new person . . . obviously, I knew of the Inuzuka cousins. Both boys were rough and wild, a bit like my brother in the noise department, but with less kindness and more bestial instincts. I eyed the Inuzuka boy apprehensively as I stood from my seat to get to the aisleway.

Nanaki was waiting for me at the end of the row and lifted one hand, gesturing me to go first, "Meiou-san."

I giggled a little with a tiny smile on my face, feeling some of my nerves relax at his calm presence, and descended the stairs, with Nanaki slightly behind me and to the right. I watched as Inuzuka Talon turned to look at us, his dark eyes sweeping over Nanaki quickly, and slowly over me. I wasn't sure why his gaze sent shivers racing down my spine, but they did.

Inuzuka Talon looked somewhat like his cousin. He wore dark green pants with a dark blue kunai pouch, black standard ninja sandals, and a black t-shirt that clung to his already toned physique. Over the shirt, he wore a hoodless dark green coat over the shirt. His hitai-ate was tied around his forehead, and the fabric was black. It blended into his messy black hair that stuck up every which way, and a few rebellious pieces that hung in from of the head band, slightly into his eyes. His golden-green gaze met mine, and after a few seconds where I didn't look away, he smirked, a roguish grin which sent a flurry of little butterflies flapping around my tummy. His canines were heavily pronounced, and the twin red triangles on his cheeks identified him as part of the Inuzuka clan.

Next to him was a little black puppy with pretty golden eyes. The boy dog was sitting calmly next to Talon, eyeing both Nanaki and myself with a gaze that was neither friendly nor cold.

While I had been looking over my new teammate, our sensei had arrived. I couldn't see him too well, as he clung to the darker parts of the classroom, but I saw his hand motion for us to follow him.

We did so quietly, trekking after him through the darker and unused corridors of the Academy. I kept my eyes on the floor, and tried to assemble my thoughts, but as I did so, I felt a shiver of something run over me. Frowning when I looked up and found myself alone, I opened my mouth, then paused.

I vaguely remembered my lessons from Iruka-sensei about genjutsu, a brief lesson about theory and what it was. I had aced that test well, being able to release it that was.

I couldn't mold my chakra to release it . . . but . . .

I pulled out a kunai from my pouch and braced myself. I lifted my right forearm (I had palmed the kunai in my left hand) in a ninety degree angle from my body and then brought the kunai slashing in a diagonal motion across my forearm. I hissed in pain as it danced along my nerves, skittering delightedly around my head, and causing my vision to water and waver . . .

No wait; it wasn't the pain of the shallow cut I'd made that was forcing my vision to water. I blinked several times as the genjutsu ripped apart at the seams, and I blinked as I found myself on the roof of the Academy. There was a peaceful breeze as I stood on the edge, blinking in the sunshine as my eyes adjusted. The brilliant warm sunshine spread through the effervescent blue sky with ease, and I found myself reveling in the feeling as the rays caressed my body.

"Well done," came a quiet masculine voice from behind me.

I slowly turned, cradling my forearm to my body as my eyes finally adjusted and the last of the genjutsu fell away. My head cleared enough that I recognized the height and build of the man sitting on a small stone pillar in the middle of the roof. My new sensei.

I spotted Nanaki and Talon a few feet away from me. Their bodies were moving slowly, walking around in circles, and it was then I understood.

My not-so-brilliant mind clicked the pieces into place, and I smiled shyly at my sensei, "Uhm . . . that was a test, right?"

My sensei's lips curved into an amused smile and he nodded, "Indeed. Please, sit Meiou."

I cradled my forearm gently as I sat in front of him, before once more reaching into my pouch. I found the last of the gauze my brother and I had and carefully looked at my cut. I had found a few first aid scrolls in the library the last time I went there to try and understand taijutsu better. I had memorized the scrolls and was able to patch up the shallow cuts and bruises my brother received from his pranks (and sometimes beatings – he didn't know that I knew about those though) and myself when we tried to work on our taijutsu together.

So, as I inspected the cut and noted with satisfaction that it wasn't as deep as it felt, I quickly pulled out a small wet towelette I'd taken from a restaurant two nights ago, when Naru-nii and I had gone shopping.

I felt kinda guilty for taking it, but the man had been really rude and I figured he wouldn't mind if one little towelette went missing. I bit my lip hard as I carefully cleaned the wound, though tears sprang into my eyes at the stinging sensation the wipe caused. I hesitantly blew on the wound, and when I felt it was dry, I wrapped it in gauze and pinned it. It was a much better job than I'd done on Iruka-sensei three nights ago in the forest, but it still wasn't anywhere near perfect.

Still, as I raised my eyes to my new sensei and found him assessing my movements, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of pride and embarrassment when he nodded to me, the smile still playing on his lips. "I am surprised to see a twelve year old girl knows some basic first aid."

I frowned at his light tone, "Why shouldn't I? I mean, I'm training to be a kunoichi, right?"

I could see that he was satisfied and pleased with my answer, but I didn't know why.

"KAI!" came two male voices at once, causing me to jump. The gentle cooling winds and the sun's warm rays, plus my concentration on my wound, had occupied my attention and made me forget that my team was up here as well.

Both Nanaki and Talon instantly turned around to look at our sensei, Talon outright glaring and Nanaki simply starring.

I remembered Nanaki's stares – that was how he looked at me for the first week, assessing my character and making his judgments based on his observations.

But Talon's glare, furious thought it was, held a hint of calculation and assessment as well.

Our sensei, however, didn't seem disturbed by the two boys' looks; on the contrary, he smiled at them, "Good job boys, but Meiou over here beat you by about ten minutes."

I saw Talon start in surprise, but Nanaki merely nodded, and looked at me, "Well done Meiou-san."

"Thanks Nanaki-san," I replied with an easy smile, much more open and warm than the shy smile I'd given to sensei.

"Please, have a seat," the man gestured to the ground in front of him, where I was, and I took the time to study him.

He was tall, perhaps around six foot five or taller. He had a soft shade of olive tinted skin, and it looked as smooth as the expensive laquerware sold in the marketplace down on the main street. He had dark red hair, which was a bit on the long side and held in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, but his bangs, like Talon's, hung around his eyes. His brilliant grey eyes, the color of a storm cloud, were amused but still blank, the kind of scary blank that made me frightened of my brother. He was clothed in black pants, black sandals, and a tight sleeveless mesh shirt – I could see a bit poking out from underneath the standard Jonin green vest. He wore two black kunai pouches, and his headband hung loosely around his neck.

"Now that you've passed my little test, let's get to know each other, hmm?" There was something about his smile that made more of those little butterflies flutter around in my tummy. His face was pleasant as he spoke, with an angular chin and high cheek bones. His baritone, quiet voice washed over me and I again felt those strange shivers on my spine.

Was I sick?

"My name is Kumara Razen; call me Kumara-sensei, or just Sensei," he said. "I'd like to know your names, dreams, hobbies or likes and dislikes, and if you've identified any strengths or weaknesses, then please share those as well."

I noticed how his eyes darkened slightly, to a shade of stone grey, as he nodded to Talon. "You first."

Talon leaned back slightly, and I could see that hint of cockiness on his face that made his lips twist into that roguish grin he'd given me. "The name's Inuzuka Talon," he paused and gestured to the black dog that was again sitting calmly at his side, despite the fact that I could almost see Talon vibrating with energy, "This here's my partner Marumaru. My dream is to become as strong a ninja as I possibly can, and to be an unbeatable team with Marumaru. I like to train with Marumaru and I like listening to music, specifically rock. I don't like things that strain my enhanced senses or overly complicated speeches; just say the damn point and move on." He frowned, and then said, "I'd guess that my weakest area is ninjutsu, then genjutsu, and my strongest is taijutsu."

Kumara-sensei nodded as if he'd suspected what Talon had said, and then nodded to Nanaki on my other side, "You next."

Nanaki was silent for a moment, and I turned my head to give him an encouraging grin. I saw that his gaze had been focused on my bandaged arm, and he lifted his head to stare at me for a few minutes, during which my grin became smaller and smaller.

"Hey," Talon cut in, his voice rough, "It's your turn Aburame." I could see him starring at my arm too, now, and his nostrils flared slightly as the wind picked up around us, I guess carrying the scent of my blood to him. "Don't worry about your girlfriend."

I whipped my head around to glare at him, "I'm NOT his girlfriend. I'm just a friend . . ." I hesitantly glanced over at Nanaki, trailing off slightly as I said the last part.

Nanaki stared at me for another moment, Kumara-sensei watching with amusement and patience, and then nodded once. "I am Aburame Nanaki. My dream is to become a member of ANBU and serve Konoha as best I can in that position. I enjoy entomology with my cousin and quiet nights where I can train in peace. I dislike crowds and those that do not respect privacy. My weakest area is taijutsu, and my strongest is ninjutsu, weapons, and using my bloodline." I swear I saw his lips quirk and if I wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of teasing coloring his usually calm voice, "And I am a friend to Uzumaki Meiou-chan."

Kumara-sensei nodded thoughtfully as I blushed a deep red. "R-really?" I squeaked, gazing at him through my snowy white lashes shyly.

"Indeed," Nanaki murmured. "I consider you a . . . friend, Meiou-chan."

I swear that my smile was brighter than the sun at that moment. "I consider you a friend also Nanaki-kun."

"I think I'm gonna barf," Talon muttered.

I ignored him and waited for Kumara-sensei to indicate it was my turn. After another thoughtful moment on his part, his eyes cleared and he nodded to me, a small and . . . maybe . . . was that a hint of pride already on his lips?

I quickly cleared my throat and gave them all my best smile, "I'm Uzumaki Meiou. My dream is to help my brother become Hokage; I swear that he will! Uhm, my hobbies are stargazing and meditation, and I enjoy botany and biology as well as working in my little garden in the park. I don't like . . ." I frowned, and I wandered into my thoughts as faces, angry faces, flashed in front of my eyes, "I don't like this village."

I saw Talon start, Nanaki stiffen, and though he didn't move, I felt the air around Kumara-sensei darken and cool. The sun seemed to dim and the wind stopped blowing.

"Let me explain," I said quietly, my eyes not really seeing the ground I was looking at, "I don't like this village because of what they've done to my brother." My fists clenched as I remembered the taunting words of the children, the actions and attitudes of the older villagers . . . I knew the reason and I saw none to support their irrational prejudice. "A lot of people see his pranks and his goofiness . . . but they're not there at the end of the day, when his eyes are sad and his shoulders slump. They're not the ones to see him shot down and trampled on every day, and they don't see him get back up with a grin on his face." I was aware that I was whispering, but I felt something warm trail down my face and little droplets land on my hands. "They don't see his courage, his strength, his potential, his love . . . his heart. They just . . ." My vision blurred dramatically, "They can't look past whatever happened . . . they blame my brother, they want to destroy him for . . . and he doesn't . . ."

I felt the sunshine come back and the warm breeze gently wrap around my body as I trembled. I felt the tears come faster and I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat, feeling ashamed and panicked for showing this much emotion and for opening up to these people. Nanaki was my friend yes, but I didn't even know Kumara-sensei or Talon that well . . .

I was sure I was shaking hard. Where was my Naru-nii? I needed him here, holding me and telling me it was okay, but even as I thought of my blonde haired knuckle headed brother, I felt my sadness grow exponentially.

I felt a hesitant hand slip onto my shoulder, and a gentle squeeze from my right side. I swallowed again and somehow managed to get my tears under control, before I wiped my face vigorously, feeling shame well up in me.

I knew that crying was a weakness in shinobi and I still did it – I had never felt so strange in my life.

Seeing that I had, at least for now, stopped crying, Nanaki withdrew his hand and nodded imperceptibly at my shaky sad smile. On my other side, I could feel how uncomfortable Talon was. Kumara-sensei was no longer cold, but he wasn't exactly full of hugs and ice cream.

"And . . . my weaknesses . . . I'm not too sure, but I've never been able to grasp taijutsu. Ninjutsu and genjutsu are easy for me though," I finished in a small voice that pretty much flaunted my shame to my new teammates and sensei.

Kumara-sensei said nothing however, and nodded when I finished up, "Well, you'll be able to find out soon enough. We begin team drills tomorrow – we'll start by showing skills we know and figuring out what we don't, and then team training will be every day from noon until dusk. Understood?"

We all nodded, and he let that smile show again. "Good. Also, once we get comfortable with each other, we'll start working on missions."

I perked up at that. If we started missions, we'd soon be on our way to rising through the ranks . . . which meant Naru-nii's dream was that much closer!

He nodded to us all, "Nanaki, Talon, you're dismissed. Meiou, please stay for a second."

I froze as my friend and my other teammate left. Was I in trouble?

Kumara-sensei stared off across the building tops as they left, and for several minutes afterwards. Finally, he gave a deep sigh and turned back to me.

His face frightened me. It was the blank mask that cropped up on Naru-nii's face . . . I decided that I just didn't like that mask anymore than I liked it on Naru-nii.

"Am I in trouble Kumara-sensei?" I whispered.

He slowly shook his head, "Meiou, do you understand the reason for the villager's attitudes?"

"Kyuubi," I said in a whisper.

He didn't look shocked that I knew, but instead studied me for a long time. "And it doesn't bother you that your brother is that thing?"

I stood up and was in front of him before I was aware that I was moving. I glared at him for all I was worth, rankings be damned and ignoring the fact that I could be dead in a few minutes, "My Naru-nii is NOT that monster. He's a hero, keeping the fox away from more destruction and death. He's got a big loving heart and he just . . ." I heard my voice turn pleading, trying to make my sensei understand, "He just wants people to see HIM, you know? I love him so much and I try to be there for him through everything but it hurt me every time he came home from a fresh beating or those villagers would glare at him like he wasn't worth anything and he would just smile and laugh and there'd be sadness in his eyes and anger when he saw them glaring at me too and I just . . ." I felt the tears start to bubble up again and tried to swallow them down. "He's just a thirteen year old boy Sensei, he just wants a family and home and recognition and love. That's all."

Kumara-sensei stared me down for a long moment before his right hand came up and wiped away my tears. "To bear such a burden and to know so much and yet so little," he said softly. "You're a lot stronger than many of my colleagues and your peers give you credit for Meiou. Don't be ashamed of this passion and love for your family – it will help you in the years to come."

I stared at him as he smiled again, a gentle and easygoing smile. "Sensei?"

"Hm?"

"D'you . . . d'you have family?"

Kumara-sensei's smile faded to be replaced by the blank mask. "No."

I frowned, the tears not quite drying and I felt something well up inside me. It was similar to when I watched Naru-nii come home from a beating, and I would bandage him up and he would smile.

I felt like I was bleeding from the inside, for my brother who was unloved by all and for this man who had no family.

I felt connected to him, and suddenly I was determined to help him. "Then . . ." I watched his blank mask carefully before nodding resolutely. "Then I'm going to be your family from now on, okay?"

I thought I saw a flash of surprise and something that looked suspiciously like pity, "Meiou-"

"You can't argue with me on this one Sensei," I said, the last of my tears vanishing. "You won't have a choice. Even if you don't want one, I'm going to be your family from now on." I gave a decisive nod, "In fact, I'm going to be family to this entire team. I'll be the best little sister you guys could want and you don't have a say in it." I grinned and bounced on the balls of my feet, suddenly energized by my new determination, my new mission.

Kumara-sensei looked at me long and hard before he sighed and smiled. I thought that smile was tinged with sadness, but he ruffled my hair playfully and shook his head. "Run along Meiou."

"Yes sir Kumara-sensei!" I giggled poked his hand that was ruffling my hair, "See you tomorrow!"

* * *

The next day, when I awoke, I found Naru-nii already dressed and checking his shuriken and kunai in his pouch. I glanced out the window to find it was barely dawn. "Naru-nii?"

I knew he had to get ready for the survival training thingy with his team, but I wasn't too happy he was skipping breakfast.

"I need to leave in a few minutes Mei-chan," he murmured distractedly.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and clambered out of bed, clad in one of Naru-nii's black shirts. It was too big on my petite frame, but it was comfortable and smelled like my brother, so I was fine with it.

I ran over to the kitchen and dug around in one of the cupboards for a moment, before my hand fell on the box I wanted. "Aha!"

I pulled out the box of granola bars and shook the last two out into my hand. I grabbed both of them and pushed them into Naru-nii's hands. "Here."

"Mei-chan I'm not supposed to eat," Naruto protested, trying to give them back, but I wouldn't hear of it.

"Naruto," I said, and he stopped, looking straight at me, "I'm giving you these because you're not eating breakfast. I want you to have these with you – survival training, you need all your energy. Screw the rules, if this was a real mission and you hadn't eaten breakfast, your chakra reserves would be low and you'd have no energy for the other stuff. Please Naruto, take them," I pleaded, with big round puppy dog eyes, and he relented, nodding to himself.

"If your teammates," I scowled, remembering who he was paired with, "Give you any trouble, tell them I wouldn't let you leave otherwise. I'm not going to have them interfering with your health."

Naruto nodded and gave me a warm smile, one that was toned down from his goofy grin and he pulled me to him, hugging me closely and burying his face in my hair. "I love you Mei-chan, my imouto."

"I love you Naru-nii, aniki," I whispered, hugging him. I felt him pull back and kiss my forehead. "Run off now, or you'll be late."

Naruto nodded, already ripping open one of the granola bars. I saw him close the door and watched him wolf down the tiny thing as he ran down the street.

I took my time getting ready that morning. I had showered the night before, but I carefully brushed my hair and braided it tightly, not willing to let even one loose strand out. Then, I checked over my equipment, noting with a frown that my weapons were starting to get dull. I'd need to find a new sharpening stone soon.

Then, I pulled on my usual attire and strapped on my equipment. I picked up a wallet that looked like a baby fox, and checked inside. I found I had just enough for a sharpening stone, and grinned, putting my wallet in my kunai pouch and left, locking the door behind me and slipping me key into my back pocket.

By now, the sun had risen to the 10 o'clock position, and many people were out and about. I tried my damndest to ignore the tempered glares and barbed whispers thrown my way as I worked through the crowds to the weapons shop. I thought I briefly saw Talon on the other side of the street as I entered the dimly lit store, but I couldn't be sure.

I walked in and noticed immediately the hostile atmosphere from the store owner. He had brown hair that reminded me of shiny and tiny, beady eyes that followed my movements with an angry, predatory like feel. I wandered over to the sharpening stones and examined them before I found one I liked. I picked it up and brought it over to the register, trying not to squirm at the undisguised hatred and something else in the man's eyes.

"I'd like one sharpening stone, sir," I said politely and quietly.

He glared down at me, moving his hands behind the desk when I put the stone down on the counter in front of me. Instead of answering, he just stared at me.

I felt a strange warning tingle on the back of my neck before an explosion right in front of me threw me out the suddenly frontless store. I felt the back of my head hit the dirt, sending spots dancing before my eyes, as the momentum carried me out into the street. I eventually skidded to a halt on my back, wincing at the scrapes that littered my bare skin.

The crowd outside the shop was murmuring, drawing their own conclusion as the store owner jumped out of the smoke. "DID YOU SEE WHAT SHE DID?!" He screamed, pointing at me.

I scrambled backwards, hissing at the pain as my skin was abused even more on the street. I rushed to get to my feet, but was off balance and felt a severe glancing pain in my right leg. I fell back to the street with a soft whimper of pain, and I looked up when a shadow fell over me. The store owner glared at me with that same mix of hatred and predatory . . . hunger? He was looking at me the way Naruto looked at bowl of steaming ramen after a hard workout – like I was about to be eaten.

He raised his hand while still screaming, "THE LITTLE BITCH BLEW UP MY SHOP!!!!!!" He smiled sinisterly and cold hard fear gripped my heart. "I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget little girl!"

I saw his hand come down towards me, in slow motion, and I weakly raised my hands, trying to form the hand signs for a simple Kawarimi no Jutsu, but for some reason, I couldn't get my hands to move. I instead closed my eyes, waiting for the blow to happen . . .

But it never came.

I opened my eyes to find the man's fist caught in the single hand of my teammate, Inuzuka Talon.

"Talo-Inuzuka-san?" I whispered, trying to stop my vision from blurring and looking at the growling black dog in front of me.

He sent me that roguish smirk over his shoulder, the one that sent butterflies soaring through my tummy and caused my body to heat up in anticipation. _Anticipation? Of what?_ I asked myself, but got no answers. I supposed it was for a fight, perhaps, or maybe I was just nervous and found him dangerous?

I still received no answers and tuned in to hear him say, "C'mon now, Meiou-chan, we're teammates. Don't tell me you forgot already?" He asked, casually pushing the man backwards.

"N-no . . ." I said, "I'm j-just . . ."

"Surprised?" Talon finished, his smirk turning wicked. I wished he'd stop doing that . . . it was doing strange things to my insides, things I didn't understand and things I wasn't sure I wanted to. "Don't be – I don't allow teammates of mine to be pushed around."

Marumaru apparently agreed, because he gave a woof and then turned around, bounding up to me and putting his forepaws onto my tummy, sniffing me and then yipping softly, giving me little kisses along my chin.

I giggled and felt my vision sway again, "Oohh . . ."

Talon eyed me, and then flared his nostrils, catching my scent I supposed, and then his golden green eyes turned a bit more golden than green, like molten sunlight. He turned an angry glare on the crowd, "Keep it moving!" He barked before gripping the owner by the collar of his shirt and glaring at him, "You've given a teammate of mine a burn and I can scent blood from the scratches on her back. What've you got to say for yourself?"

"Talon!" a sharp reprimand came from behind me. I wasn't surprised to see Nanaki, though his tone did surprise me. "Put Saki-san down."

Talon growled low but shoved the man down, "Next time you want to activate an exploding tag and pin it on Meiou-chan, you should think twice, you sick bastard."

"Huh?" I was confused and a sudden pain in my head made it hard to think. From the symptoms and what I could remember, it felt like I had a small concussion.

Nanaki quietly loped my right arm around his neck and stoop. I hissed in pain as the skin across my back shifted and then whimpered when the glancing pain in my leg burned all the way up and into the pit of my stomach, and up into my brain. "Ah!"

Talon was on the other side of me in an instant, looping my other arm around his neck. "Nanaki, dude, I don't think this is gonna work – if we drag her leg it might get worse."

Nanaki nodded to show he understood. "I do not think it wise to carry her in the standard carry or the bridal style – she seems to have a concussion if her attempt at a Kawarimi no Jutsu shows."

"Piggy back it is," Talon released my arm briefly and Nanaki lead my body over to him, placing me gently on his back. I slowly moved, like I was swimming in molasses, and tried to keep a steady hold on him. He was hesitant about my legs, concern for the burn I guessed, and finally settled his calloused hands on the back of my thighs. It felt . . . nice, pleasant, in a way that made a slow burn begin in the lower pit of my stomach, a different burn than the one on my leg. It was a nice burn.

I tried to focus on something else, so I tried to focus my loopy vision on Nanaki, hustling along next to us. I heard Marumaru's paws go tap-tap-tap-tap against the ground and watched the buildings, trees, sky, everything become a blur.

"Don't worry Meiou-chan," Nanaki's smooth voice was like a balm against the pain. "We are arriving at the hospital now."

Talon sighed, "I'll stay with her – do you think you can find Kumara-sensei and explain the situation?"

Nanaki nodded once and was gone.

The rest of the day became a blur once he left. I was taken to a medic nin who was a Chunin, according to the information Talon told me later on. At first, the male seemed reluctant to heal me, and then suddenly changed his mind when Nanaki reappeared.

I thought I briefly saw a shadow behind Nanaki but passed it off as part of the concussion.

Soon, though, I was good as new, and when I glanced outside, I found that it was probably closer to around nine o'clock at night now, and my heart sank. I looked at the forms of my teammates leaning against the wall as I came out of the hospital room, and opened my mouth to apologize.

"It was not your fault Meiou," Nanaki said firmly.

I stopped, and looked at him, confused.

He sighed and looked at me, "I knew that you, feeling as you do, were about to apologize to Talon and myself for what just happened. It was not your fault; therefore, your apology is illogical, irrational, and unneeded."

I felt my chapped lip twist up into a smile as Talon gave me that wicked smirk again, the one that heated up my insides, and this time, I felt a blush dust my cheeks. "I-I-"

"Ah, ah, ah," Talon shook his finger at Meiou, "Meiou-chan, Nanaki just said don't apologize. So don't."

I clamped my mouth shut, but grinned anyways. "Okay – shall we go find Kumara-sensei?"

A cough was heard from behind me and I whirled around, only to find Kumara-sensei standing two feet behind me. "K-kumara-sensei!"

"That's my name, Meiou," Kumara-sensei smiled at me and ruffled my hair.

I scowled and Talon laughed.

"Wh-what are you . . . I mean . . ." I frowned, "What happened?"

Kumara-sensei shook his head, "Nanaki found me and told me what happened – don't worry, I'm not here to punish you. In fact, I'm here to commend both your teammates for getting to you and taking you to be healed." He nodded to both Talon and Nanaki over my head, "Excellent work you two – you three are already showing signs of good teamwork."

Talon grinned and Nanaki acknowledged the praise with a nod of his head.

Kumara-sensei grinned, "Ah, go on, get out of here. You three go eat dinner together, and I'll see you tomorrow." He vanished in a swirl of leaves.

But even as we left the hospital, I couldn't help but think over his words. Good teamwork? Maybe Nanaki and Talon, but all I'd done was gotten injured. How was that helping?

Maybe Kumara-sensei wasn't proud of my abilities as I had suspected on the roof. Perhaps he didn't think I was very good at all.

"You're bringing the mood down, Meiou-chan," Talon nudged me gently, shoulder to shoulder, "Stop being so depressed."

Nanaki walked silently beside us.

I gave them a smile, the smile that Naru-nii used to hide his sadness from me. I don't think I fooled either of them, but they didn't push the subject, and soon we were slurping ramen at Ichiraku.

I paid with the money I tried to use to buy the sharpening stone, cutting off both of my teammate's protests with a sharp look. "You guys helped me out today, dinner's my treat."

Nanaki stopped after that, but Talon kept teasing me and edging me on the rest of the night as we cut through the park to my apartments. I was touched that they'd walk with me this far, when I knew the clan compounds were on the other side of the village.

I spared verbally with Talon, taunting him every much as he taunted me, and that damned smirk stayed fixed on his lips. I wondered why I felt the urge to run my hands all over his body, and worse, why a part of me wanted his hands all over MY body. I shrugged off the feelings and tried to focus on home, and less on Talon, but it was hard. They walked me to the stairs, and I waved them off, watching them retreat into the night. I felt warm inside and realized with a start that my list had been extended – my precious people now included my team. My boys. I smiled softly at the thought and entered the apartment, undressing silently and slipping in beside my slumbering brother's form. Immediately, he rolled over and pulled me into his protective embrace and I fell asleep thinking of my sensei and teammates.

That night, instead of dreaming of the little girl and her mother and the strange village, I dreamt of warm, calloused hands running over my naked body, and of something so warm and passionate happening, such intense pleasure and happiness that raced through my head as I slept, but I never saw the other person in my dream. I awoke feeling aching inside but still warm, and leapt out of bed to start the new day.

* * *

**All right! There's the end of that chapter.**

**Read and review please!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Drache: Here it is! The next installment of Out of Sight, Out of Mind!**

**There are no excuses for the long wait, except I needed time to gather my thoughts and deal with my assignments . . .**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Kumara Raizen. I DO however, own Meiou, any and all things related to Gesshoku No Sato, including background, clan bloodlines and techniques, all that type of stuff. I also own Talon and Nanaki, as in the characters. All others belong to either Kishimoto, or in the case of Kumara, my friend that is helping me with this fic – so say thank you to him!**

**Chapter 3**

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It was strange, Nanaki decided. He had felt an irrational surge of adrenaline this morning after he'd awoken from his sleep. It surged through his body, inciting his kikai to excitable levels, and a low hum was heard as he showered and dressed, preparing himself for the first day of team training.

Once he'd left the compound, dressed in his usual large coat, pants, and sandals, with his hitai-ate tied snuggly around his forehead, he had managed to purge the undesirable condition from his body, calming his allies and removing the low humming that emitted from his body. His walk to the meeting spot was pleasant – the warm Konoha sunshine gleamed brightly from its eleven o'clock position in the brilliant blue sky. Fluffy white clouds lazily floated along, obeying the commands of the gentle zephyrs racing through the air.

A perfect day for the team assessment, Nanaki thought.

He arrived early to the spot where he was to meet his teammates and sensei. The spot was a small series of red Shinto gates, near a small traveler's shrine that stood on a tiny hill. The Aburame casually leaned against the strong wooden pillar, focusing his gaze through his dark sunglasses up the dusty road, into the busy and thriving marketplace that somewhat reminded him of the kikai hives back in his ancestral home. People flocked from stall to stall, store to store, running errands, buying food and little trinkets for others, talking, laughing, smiling . . . an organized form of chaos that he could relate to, seeing the same thing when his kikai had been bonded to himself when he was young. The sounds and smells wafting his way actually helped to sharpen his focus of his surroundings and at the same time relaxed him, reminding him of the trips he took to the market with his civilian mother when he was five years old.

"Nanaki-kun!" a warm, female voice called above the din.

His eyes followed the flash of white that moved through the crowds, and his sharp attention caught the hate-filled looks his teammate received.

He still remembered a time when he too disliked the young girl and her brother. He could still see her, as a little seven year old, sitting on the stone bench next to his cousin, sometimes chattering on about nothing in her quiet and shy voice, sometimes not saying anything.

Nanaki remembered finding it strange and illogical – she was sure to notice that most in the Academy, teachers and students alike, treated herself and her sibling with disdain, so why would she chose to sit and speak with one who quite possibly shared the same sentiment as he did, as the rest of their clan did, as most of Konoha did?

But after speaking with her, just once, and listening to her story of attack on the older girl, he had come to the conclusion that perhaps his own observations and opinions, supposed to be based on what he gathered first hand, had been embarrassingly colored by the opinions and thoughts of others.

It irked him, quite a bit, that he had allowed such a thing; it had been impressed upon him that logical thinking and observation were key to a shinobi's mindset, and to have it colored and destroyed so easily was something he would not tolerate, nor would his uncle and cousin.

When he shared his thoughts with his older cousin, Shino had looked at him for a long while before responding, in that throaty voice of his, that he concurred wholeheartedly with his ideas and that perhaps they should observe the girl more, since they were more likely to get a true idea of what she was, as opposed to her prankster and troublemaking brother.

Still, after three years of observation, neither he nor Shino was any closer to discovering the reason for the illogical prejudice against Meiou and her brother. Spending time with her, however, had allowed him to form the thought that perhaps having one person he could consider a friend, and not just an ally, would not necessarily be a bad thing.

His younger teammate finally pushed through the throng of people, ignoring the hate filled glares or at least pretending to ignore them, and reached his side, smiling that warm smile that made his chest feel strangely tight and his body feel a bit lighter than normal. "Ohayo Nanaki-kun."

He inclined his head, feeling like he wouldn't be able to speak normally with this strange feeling in his chest. Nanaki knew he wasn't sick; his allies were, by now, well attuned to his body and could report any possible illness or injury that would hinder his performance today or any day.

This strange feeling caused a flash of irritation to appear in his eyes, hidden behind his aloof and blank mask. He had never been thankful for his coat collar before now, but he appreciated the fact that it could hide when his lips would break his mask, returning a smile or just a chuckle from something Meiou did or said, or in this case, could hide his irritation. Nanaki knew his irritation stemmed from the fact that this little girl could so easily entice him to break his mask, even if it was a tiny quirk of his lips. Aburames were supposed to be logically detached from all situations, to better make judgments for their teams or themselves during missions and other aspects of life. They were not supposed to want to see their teammate's smile, just to feel that light feeling or their chests constrict in funny ways.

It was something he didn't like, but he didn't know what to do about it.

So he chose to ignore it, settling for watching Meiou sit next to him on the ground. She folded her legs across each other, settled her forearms onto her upper thighs, hands relaxed and loose as her palms faced the ground, and closed her eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly, allowing her position to relax while her spine remained straight.

His hidden grey eyes wandered her body, finding a growing sense of bemusement as he took in her clothes. Her white hair was tied into its usual braid, and he sighed internally that at least she didn't leave it loose and free, like Haruno or Yamanaka. She wore loose white pants that clung to her thighs and flared slightly around her calves - that'd be a problem when moving quickly, because undoubtedly the fabric would flutter and make possible noise, though he could say the same for his jacket. She wore the typical blue ninja sandals, and a long sleeved white t-shirt. Her hitai-ate was tied tightly around her upper right arm, and a shuriken/kunai holster was buckled firmly around her upper left thigh. He felt his lips move smoothly into a teeny frown and felt his eyebrows furrow slightly, but he was too preoccupied with the state of her clothes and equipment to care; with the exception of her headband, everything on her body looked threadbare and worn, and he swore that there were clumsy stitches on the left side of her right ninja sandal. The tie she used for her hair smelled slightly of mold, and it looked almost too stretched out to be of use. He also recalled, from their Academy days, that her weapons were, more often than not, dull and covered in scratches.

If their team was to be, as he suspected, a reconnaissance team, then she'd stick out like a sore thumb.

He'd speak to her on it later; perhaps she could find herself some clothes in more neutral shades? Somehow, after recalling the violent reaction of the weapon's shop owner yesterday, he doubted it. Still, logic dictated that he approach her first, instead of trying to attack the situation in a different way.

Her breathing had completely evened out by now, and he found himself studying her body, searching for the slightest twitch or shift, and cataloguing the fact that she could stay still longer than her brother. Both he and Shino expected her to be like her brother – hyperactive, an inability to grasp stealth tactics, and perhaps a bit on the unintelligent side as well.

He could cross hyperactive off the list – Meiou showed a pleasurable zest for life, but it was nothing like the explosive passion her brother harbored.

That was good. She'd possibly be able to grip stealth more easily this way than if she was more like her brother.

"You guys are early," a rough male voice intruded into Nanaki's thoughts.

He turned his head slightly to see Inuzuka Talon and Marumaru extract themselves from the flow of people and move towards them.

Nanaki reviewed what he knew of the Inuzuka clan as the other boy leaned against the other pillar, Marumaru sitting calmly at his side.

They were some of the best trackers around, and their symbiosis with their nin-dogs was similar to what he shared with his kikai. Unfortunately, their clan was more popular with many of the civilians in the village and, to an extent, the Council of Elders. It made potential mates hard to find within the confines of their village, but no matter.

The Inuzuka, Nanaki knew, was well skilled in Taijutsu, especially for a Genin. After seeing the way Marumaru and Talon had reacted to Meiou in danger . . .

Well it was safe to say he did not want to unduly or accidentally upset the dog shinobi. He wasn't sure who'd come out on top if Talon DID decide to fight him.

Something Nanaki found absolutely fascinating was the pack mentality that all Inuzukas seemed to share, some more so than others. Kiba was loud and obnoxious, like Naruto, but he seemed human, whereas Talon seemed downright animal-like at times.

Again, the time when he had stepped in front of Meiou came to mind.

Nanaki was not sure where their younger teammate or himself stood in Talon's mind, but he knew, from what he'd spoken to Shibi last night, that Talon would probably consider their younger teammate the Omega and their Sensei the Alpha . . . still, he needed to be careful.

Nanaki could tell there was something . . . strange about their younger teammate, and he could not pin it down. But, he would not underestimate the girl who could break a Genjutsu cast by their Jonin-level sensei.

He did approve of his fellow Genin's attire though. Today the Inuzuka wore black pants that were form fitting yet still allowed a wide range of motion. He wore a dark green tank top that clung to his flat chest and stomach, and over that a black quarter sleeve jacket that was light and probably a cotton blend. His hitai-ate was tied tightly around his forehead which forced his unruly dark hair to hang into his eyes, which darted around as he shifted again, impatiently waiting for their teacher.

Nanaki's attention returned to Meiou as she stood and stretched, and he took a moment to remind himself that her outfit was impractical. She'd stick out easily against the greenery of Konoha, and possibly even against the sandy areas from the borders of Wind Country, and he didn't want his teammate (friend, a little voice whispered in the back of his head, she's your friend) to get injured or to affect the success of their mission.

He shook his head slightly - Meiou's hair color would be a problem, but the fact that she chose to accentuate it with the same color clothing would be an issue.

He'd already decided to speak to her about it later; there was nothing more he could do.

He raised an eyebrow when a small pouting frown crossed her lips. "Kumara-sensei's late . . . do you think he's okay?"

Nanaki chose to not mention that Kumara-sensei had five more minutes before their assigned meeting time and that he would not be late.

Talon, on the other hand, snorted and looked at her, "He's a Jounin, Meiou-chan . . . he'll be fine."

She crossed her arms, still looking worried, "But Talon-san . . ."

"Quite worrying Mei-chan," Talon's lips had moved into that smirk he seemed to wear a lot. Nanaki didn't like it - it spoke of cockiness and that was never a good trait in a shinobi. "I'm sure he's fine."

Meiou nodded, looking unconvinced, "Okay . . . I hope Kumara-sensei's okay . . ."

"That's my name," said a male voice directly next to her ear.

Nanaki watched in detached amusement as Meiou gave a shrill cry of surprise and jumped, turning in mid air and reaching for her kunai pouch. Talon's reaction was much more vocal. He had grabbed his stomach and was roaring with laughter at Meiou's startled expression.

Kumara grabbed her hand before she could reach the kunai, a teasing smile on his face, "Ah-ah-ah, Meiou-chan. You could hurt someone with that."

Meiou's lips turned into a scowl and she wrenched her arm away, putting her hands on her hips and looking like a disgruntled younger sister. "That's not funny Kumara-sensei!"

"Talon thinks so," Kumara pointed out.

Nanaki intervened, "With all due respect, Kumara-sensei, Talon-san would laugh at anything involving another's surprise or rage or anger, so long as he was not the target."

Meiou nodded as she frowned, "Aside from that, you shouldn't sneak up on us anyways, and you're late! I was worried about you; you should try to be on time."

Talon's laughter redoubled as Kumara chuckled. Meiou looked over at Nanaki simply sighed. "He wasn't late Meiou-chan; he still has five minutes before we could call him 'on time'."

"Oh," Meiou's ire melted away like magic, and Nanaki briefly entertained the notion that Meiou's lack of anger and large heart might be a weakness that their enemies would exploit if they could. Those thoughts were lost at the sight of Meiou's beautiful warm smile, "Now, Sensei, what're we doing today?"

Kumara's grin turned positively wicked, "Just a general showing of your skills. I need to see where we are for who, so I can start each of you in the right direction."

Talon and Meiou nodded (Nanaki just stood there) and all of them followed when he motioned their team forward. Nanaki took up the rear, next to Meiou, and turned his head slightly to face her, "You scolded our sensei."

Meiou just grinned, her facial features lightening in a way Nanaki found pleasant, "Well, someone needs to take care of you boys while we're a team!"

Talon rolled his eyes and began walking backwards to talk to his other teammates, "You think you could provide for our team?"

Meiou stuck her tongue out at him, "Quiet Talon-kun. You guys might be better with hunting and all that, but I know how to cook and take care of people."

"Oh really?" Talon's tone was full of disbelief and sarcasm.

Nanaki raised an eyebrow and looked at Meiou, "You can cook?"

Meiou's face turned bright red as both boys looked at her, "W-well . . . I mean, someone needed to take care of Naru-nii . . . I've been doing it for as long as I can remember . . ."

Her voice trailed off and her eyes began to glaze over as she immersed herself in memories and thoughts.

Nanaki cleared his throat and Meiou's blush burned a deeper crimson when she came back to the present, "Sorry."

Talon shrugged, "Whatever. Guess we'll see when we're on missions, huh?"

Meiou just sighed, "Yup."

Nanaki waited until Talon turned around before hesitantly lifting his right hand and placing it on her left shoulder. He gave it a soft squeeze and then let his hand drop.

Meiou's grin was small, but it still held that warmth that made his chest do the pleasurable jolty feeling. Meiou didn't see it, but an answering smile, small and soft, curved his lips as they approached their training ground.

**

* * *

**

Talon wasn't sure what to expect, concerning the team assessment. He had spent last night, after seeing his youngest teammate to her residence, mentally reviewing his taijutsu stances as he raced Marumaru home and later on as he lay in his bed.

This morning, he was up early for his usual run around Konoha with Marumaru (he'd picked up the habit from his late mother, a steady and powerful kunoichi that had trained him until she died from a sudden stroke). Then, he played some Hide and Seek with Marumaru. It was a great way to learn to track and explore his senses, and a great way for Marumaru to test his abilities as well.

His partner, speaking of which, was walking calmly next to him, but he could tell that the little pup was excited at this opportunity to prove themselves.

His golden-green gaze flickered to his Alpha, Kumara-sensei, in a considering manner. He knew the man was powerful, but the extent of his power had yet to be seen. Still, Talon was not unintelligent. Kumara-sensei was Alpha; it was just this aura the man exuded without effort that had Talon's normally dominant instincts turning submissive without any thought or conscious decision. Talon had accepted him as head of their little pack – Marumaru had also accepted it without any problem, and Talon knew that his partner was sensitive to most strangers . . . most of the time.

His gaze quickly moved to the teammate who was his age. The Aburame kid was walking quietly with a controlled step. Though it lacked the seemingly effortless grace and experience that Kumara-sensei's gait held, Talon could see the potential within his Aburame teammate. A frown raced across his lips.

In his pack-like mentality, Talon wanted to rate himself above the Aburame. Unfortunately, he wasn't too certain he could. The part of him that wasn't as in touch with his animalistic instincts reminded him that the Aburame's skills and abilities were also unknown, and though he did not exude that powerful aura like Kumara-sensei, he did hold himself a certain way that made Talon a bit . . . wary of his silent comrade. To err on the side of caution was not his strong suit, but Talon was firm in his conviction that this team assessment would solidify their places in the small pack.

Marumaru had, by now, dropped back a bit to walk next to his youngest teammate. The girl smiled down at Marumaru and softly said hello. Talon could tell by the way Marumaru woofed softly in reply that Meiou was the exception to the puppy's normal behavior. The girl didn't seem like much – regardless of her skills or her strange passive aggressive behavior, Talon could just tell this girl would be the Omega of their pack. Her role would probably be support and chances were that she would need the most protection in team missions.

Still, he hoped she wasn't too weak, like those other kunoichi in their class. His nose scrunched up when he thought of those other girls. Haruno Sakura was undoubtedly the weakest if not the smartest. Yamanaka Ino didn't seem too bad, but her taijutsu left much to be desired. His cousin Kiba was on a team with the Hyuuga girl, so he was sure to get an accurate assessment of her abilities, considering he hadn't had any real interaction with her (they had never been paired up for anything in the academy, so he didn't have any real thoughts on her abilities).

Honestly, he wasn't sure about Meiou's abilities. She seemed to be decent with Genjutsu, if their little test yesterday with Kumara-sensei proved anything. So perhaps she wouldn't be as bad as some of those in his clan who were ranked as the Omega, if she could break through a Genjutsu.

Those clothes though, those were a problem. The brilliant white seemed to be brighter than ever in the sunlight as they came to a halt in what was clearly a training ground. The same frown flitted across his face as he considered the girl, and noted the shabby state of her clothing. This would be an issue; if he suspected right after discussing things with his father and Aunt Tsume the day he'd received his team assignments, then they were probably a scouting/tracking team and any brilliant colors would put his pack in danger.

That was something he wouldn't accept – he'd have to tell her about it later.

"Welcome, Team Six," Kumara-sensei's voice broke through his thoughts. "This is Training Ground Thirteen. We'll meet here every day at ten in the morning for team training. Eventually, as you begin to work together better and you've become a bit more comfortable with each other, then we'll move onto missions."

Talon nodded his head impatiently, crossing his arms and starring at the Alpha. "So? We gonna get started?"

Kumara-sensei chuckled, though the amusement didn't seem to reach his eyes. "It's clear to see we'll need to work on your patience, Talon."

Talon didn't flush – he knew he was impatient; it was just a trait of the Inuzuka clan. "Yeah, and?"

Kumara-sensei just shook his head and gestured to the middle of the large area. It was surrounded on all sides by large trees and had a small pond-like area on their left side. Otherwise, the area was completely bare, and made up of a mixture of grass and dirt. "We'll begin with sparring. Talon, Meiou-chan, you first."

Talon grinned ferally and motioned to the black puppy now standing next to Meiou, "Let's go Marumaru."

Kumara-sensei and the Aburame moved to the side, into the shade of the wide oak leaves on the edges of the training ground. He and Meiou stayed rooted in the middle of the ground, where they had stopped before.

Talon slid his feet out to his usual stance, Marumaru tensing by his side. He brought his arms up into their standard position taught to him by his father. "Ready to lose, Mei-chan?"

He could smell her nervousness as he began to channel his chakra into his nose and eyes. He was purposefully using his enhanced senses to give him an advantage, but Kumara-sensei hadn't said they couldn't. Aside from that, he wanted to show his Alpha that he was worthy enough to stay within this pack. He wanted to show his Sensei he was strong enough to be trusted with the Beta, the second in command position of this pack.

But something he wasn't expecting was Meiou's scent that filtered into his enhanced sense of smell. Her scent was, from the whiff he'd gotten when she'd been on his back yesterday, normally something sweet and spicy at the same time, like that spicy chocolate cake he liked from the small café near the Inuzuka compound. It was a scent he had to admit that he did like, a lot more than he thought he would. But now, she was definitely nervous, her scent seemed to spike and fall with her breaths as she took a standard defensive stance. He could practically hear her heart pounding from her nervousness, but he wasn't convinced that it was all nervousness. In addition to her naturally sweet/spicy smell, and how her scent seemed to literally pulse in time with her heart beat, there was an underlying current of something Talon couldn't describe. It had no human equivalent that he could recall after wracking his memory and yet it triggered his predator instincts. They screamed that this creature in front of him was prey, something to chase, something that was necessary to his life, and yet not.

He wondered, vaguely, if this was fear he was scenting. He remembered his father talking about how you could smell an opponent's fear and that it would trigger the predator instincts that were an ingrained part of his family.

It fit that way, but then he had to wonder as he wrestled with his instincts, why was she afraid of him?

"Light contact and taijutsu only," Kumara-sensei's voice, suddenly cool and firm and very authoritative, rang through their training ground. "I'm afraid that means no Marumaru."

Talon scowled but nodded in conformance when Marumaru looked at him in askance. "Fine. I can beat Mei-chan on my own anyways."

Meiou's nervousness seemed to subside a bit as Marumaru moved off the combat area. Kumara-sensei nodded and, as soon as the little black puppy was safely out of harm's way, he said, "Start!"

Talon blurred forward, reaching Meiou in the time it would've taken their comrades to blink. His first move was a right cross hook, a powerful punch aimed for her head. Kumara-sensei said light contact only, but Talon knew how to pull his punches.

But instead of having to pull his punches, he was surprised when she shifted her entire body to the left, just outside his punch's range. Growling, Talon came back with a wild twist into a kick aimed for her semi-protected stomach. Somehow, Meiou moved (rather clumsily) backwards, once more just outside the range of his hits.

The spar seemed to continue on like this, with Meiou just ducking and dodging Talon's wild swings. He only seemed to grow more frustrated with each blow that missed and snarled, his eyes nearly eclipsed with gold as he became more furious in his attacking. Meiou's blue eyes widened and she sprang back, trying to give herself some distance.

Talon wouldn't allow it.

He followed her spring and managed to grab a hold of her waist in a mid-air tackle. The two Genin tumbled to the ground and he rolled on top of her, pinning her hands and legs down with his heavier body weight. His fierce golden gaze met her frightened blue ones and he snarled out, "What was that?"

Meiou's eyes seemed to lose that brightness and she whimpered softly when his grip tightened.

"That's enough!" Kumara-sensei's voice was whip that jerked him back to his usual self. He growled and got off the girl whose scent was riddled with fear.

He genuinely like Meiou – the girl seemed to be something that was happy and bright. Still, in this pack, she most definitely was the Omega.

Somehow, that disappointed him.

Kumara-sensei's face was blank as both he and Meiou approached the two standing men and the single puppy that bounded up to him with happiness. "Talon, you've got a lot to work on. Your swings are far too wild and wide; you lose a lot of energy when you're spending it in such a way."

His cool voice somehow inspired something like shame inside Talon, and he looked away in a show of subservient unhappiness.

"Meiou, you didn't even try to get inside Talon's defenses. His wild swings, though quick and powerful, left him wide open at several points. You could've gone in there and gotten a successful hit, but instead you were preoccupied with dodging." He eyed her speculatively. "I'd like to know why. I know that you should've been able to see those openings."

Meiou licked her lips and Talon caught another whiff of her fear-filled scent. He turned to look at her, also curious.

"I-I . . . it's . . . it's something . . . I learned early on . . . when the kids at the Academy took sparring practice . . ." Meiou swallowed. "I learned it was easier to avoid the blows and eventually they'd get tired and leave me alone."

Talon frowned; he couldn't recall any active bullying towards Meiou, especially since the day she leapt onto and beat Hapitsu Chyo. Still, if the kids had been using the Academy sparring sessions as an excuse . . .

Kumara-sensei was also frowning, but he didn't say another word. Instead, he motioned to Nanaki, "You and me, Nanaki."

Nanaki nodded once, pushing away from the tree and approaching Kumara-sensei slowly. He slid into a defensive position, waiting for Kumara-sensei to begin the session.

"Same rules apply," the Jounin said calmly, sliding into his own Taijutsu stance. "Begin!"

Nanaki rushed forward as the last syllable fell from Kumara-sensei's lips, and began throwing punches and kicks that Kumara-sensei was easily able to block.

Meiou seemed a bit distracted during the fight, so Talon knew she didn't pay much attention to the slight hesitance in Nanaki's moves. It appeared the Aburame was not seriously aiming to hit, but that perhaps he was . . . testing?

After watching the fight continue, Talon nodded to himself. Testing was a good word for it – it seemed, from where he watched the fight next to a calm Marumaru, that Nanaki was testing their sensei's defenses and looking for a hole.

"Yamate! That's enough," their sensei said as both he and Nanaki sprang apart. "Nanaki, though I understand your Taijutsu is your weakest area, as is Meiou's, you seem to have grasped a style that suits you. Still, you take far too long to attack and far too long analyzing your opponent's defenses."

Nanaki bowed his head in acknowledgement and Kumara-sensei approached the other two with Nanaki slightly behind him. "All of you must understand your faults. Meiou, while you are a kunoichi and are probably physically weakest out of your team, you have good speed. Still, you use it all to dance around your opponent's blows, instead of using it to strike against them. You must learn to attack as well as defend. Talon, you are far too wild in your strikes. I understand that this is how your family fights – I've worked with several of your clan on missions in the past. Regardless, that style will drain your energy very quickly and you will soon lose the fight because you are out of breath. Nanaki, as I told you before, you take far too long to attack and far too long analyzing your opponent's defenses. On the field, time is a luxury you won't have, especially in a fight against an opponent as strong as you are, or stronger," Kumara-sensei's face was blank, Talon noticed, the way it had been two days ago when Meiou had said she hated the village.

It was little scary, Talon admitted. This man was skilled enough to easily kill each of them several times over, and that blank mask looked like one worn to battle. It was . . . intimidating.

Talon scowled slightly but nodded his head in agreement with Kumara-sensei's criticism when stone grey eyes met his own green-golden ones. "Right."

Meiou nodded her head once. The Inuzuka boy frowned as he stared at his white haired teammate. Whatever had been distracting her wasn't distracting her right now, but there was still an undercurrent that said she didn't have her undivided attention here. Her blue eyes, however, met his and she gave him a warm smile that eased the slight irritation he felt at her lack of attention.

"So how do we fix it, Kumara-sensei?" Talon asked roughly, breaking his gaze from the Omega of their pack to look at his Alpha.

Kumara-sensei looked at all three of them, and said quietly, "Be quick, be silent, be efficient, go home."

Silence entered the clearing as Kumara-sensei stared them down. "Meiou, you are quick, but you lack silence and efficiency. Nanaki, you know how best to use the knowledge you have, but you lack efficiency and speed. Talon, you lack all three despite the power you have. Be quick, be silent, be efficient, go home."

**

* * *

**

Kumara watched them process the information he had given them before he allowed a small smile to appear on his lips. "Okay then – next we shall see your Ninjutsu abilities."

Unsurprisingly, Talon and Marumaru were the first up. "Ready Marumaru?"

The puppy barked in what Kumara assumed was an affirmative answer, because Talon put his hands through a couple of signs. "Here we go! Jujin Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a poof of smoke (though Kumara noticed it was soundless) and when the smoke cleared, two Talon Inuzukas stared back at him, with identical cocky smirks on their faces. Both crossed their arms and leaned the same way.

Kumara, while far from impressed, was content with the knowledge that Talon did know how to tag team with his partner, and that their Man-Beast Clone would give his team several options and could possibly fool a lesser enemy. Instead of saying all this aloud, Kumara nodded and said, "Well done Talon."

Another poof of smoke, thankfully still soundless, and Marumaru once more stood on Talon's right side. The dog nin nodded to Kumara, smirked at Nanaki, and winked at Meiou.

Kumara ignored the behavior of the cocky genin and instead nodded to Nanaki, who allowed his Kikaichuu insects to form a sort of humming cloud around him. As one, the cloud began forming shapes, and then flew over to a log in the clearing. Within seconds, the log was reduced to sawdust as the insects quickly re-inhabited their host as soon as they were done.

Kumara was once more satisfied with the abilities displayed by his Genin – it seemed that Nanaki had worked with his allies before and was comfortable with using them in different ways. That would allow for great maneuverability in the field and during the simplistic D missions his team was certain to obtain. He once more nodded, "Excellent work Nanaki."

The stoic Aburame nodded his head once and then turned his focus onto the youngest in his team. Kumara looked to Meiou and saw the young kunoichi was already on her feet and looking at him for the signal to begin. She looked so enthusiastic that he couldn't help but tease her, "You're not ready to go, are you Meiou?"

The only female member of his Genin stuck her tongue out at him. "Maa, Kumara-sensei!" She put her hands on her hips. "Don't tease me like that!"

He couldn't help the small amused smile that crossed his lips. This was the little girl who had declared to be the best little sister he'd ever had, and she was certainly acting like it now. "You can start Meiou."

Meiou nodded her head once and focused hard. Kumara's eye expertly roved her form and he was almost surprised to see soft blue chakra become visible around her body as her focus tightened and her hand began to form signs he, and probably every other experience shinobi, knew well.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu!" She cried, and in a puff of smoke, a small branch that had been near Talon's foot was suddenly floating in the air before it fell to the ground. Now, Meiou sat calmly near Talon's foot, as though she had been sitting there the whole time.

Kumara had expected as much from her. When she mentioned her strengths at Genjutsu, he had remembered that no actual Genjutsus were taught in the Academy. The students were exposed to the theory behind them, and might even be put through one so they could understand it when it happened, but nothing was actually taught as basic Ninjutsu was.

Still, the Kawarimi no Jutsu wasn't taught to students either. The basic Ninjutsu arsenal, tools that even Jonin found useful, were explained and the simple Bunshin and Henge were taught along with weapon skills and Taijutsu, but the jutsu she had performed was not. "Meiou, where did you learn the Body Swap technique?"

Meiou smiled at him, that bright smile she always seemed to wear, "Uhm, well, the week before graduation, I was studying my notes for Kawarimi no Jutsu, and I remembered that my notes weren't exactly complete because Naru-nii had pulled a prank that day so Iruka-sensei got distracted. So I went to the shinobi library in a Henge and I looked up the information." Here, she shrugged, "It showed the signs and demonstrated how your chakra is supposed to wrap around you, so I practiced it for the next week after school while Naru-nii worked on his Taijutsu."

Kumara caught the fact that she had to go the library under a Henge, but said nothing about it. Instead, he nodded and said, "Well, that was pretty much what I expected from all of you. I have an idea now from the Genjutsu test we did on the first day and what you've just shown where everyone is. So tomorrow, we'll be doing a test of teamwork."

His Genin looked at each other and then at him questioningly. It was almost cute.

"It'll be you three against me. I'll be fully armed, with my weapons and abilities. You three will each have two kunai, three shuriken, and two feet of small inch diameter steel wire, aside from your clothes and respective abilities. You will have until noon to either subdue me or hit me in a way that could fatally injure me, or even kill me in one hit. I will not pull my punches, nor do I expect you to do the same," Kumara stood up. "Everyone will be here at nine tomorrow instead of ten."

Taking a cue from his body language, his three Genin also stood.

"Do you understand?"

They nodded. Kumara glanced up at the sky and figured it to be around three or four in the afternoon.

"Good. Dismissed."

He vanished in a swirl of leaves and reappeared on a building near a familiar window. Inside, he saw ramen patterned sheets and a bare but semi-messy and lived in apartment, belonging to his youngest student and her brother.

Before he'd left ANBU, he had been one of those assigned to guard duty, first when the Kyuubi container was four, and two years later, for both Naruto and his sister.

She wouldn't remember, but he, Kumara, had been there the night the Tsukikage stumbled through the door to the room where she would die. He remembered the small girl who had seemed so bright and intelligent and so filled with child-like wonder, and yet she understood the hand signs her mother had made that transformed her corpse into millions of tiny sparkles.

That being said, he also remembered that Inoichi had been called in to activate the memory jutsu supposedly placed on the girl before her mother's death.

It was strange, seeing her grown up after remembering the tiny girl that so clearly loved her mother and her brother and trusted them implicitly. Now she was twelve, turning thirteen in a few weeks if he remembered from her profile correctly, and her naïve trusting ways had simply been transferred, first to her "brother" and then to her team, if he read the signs correctly.

He'd sworn the Sandaime was hiding an amused smile when he opened the profiles of his students to see who he was working with. Still, it was . . . good to see her grown up.

A small frown played across his lips as he considered his team. While a Genjutsu specialist himself, like newly minted Jounin Yuuhi Kurenai, he wasn't exactly sure what he could teach the girl, let alone her teammates. Oh yes, he was quite proficient in Genjutsu, and he wasn't too bad at Ninjutsu, his Taijutsu wasn't exactly the vest. He could defend himself, if necessary, and could fight at a just below average Jounin level, but he wouldn't be able to help out his students much from correcting basic stances.

He just wasn't knowledgeable in that area . . . so what was he going to do?

**

* * *

**

As Meiou gazed up at the sun, interested in the time, she heard Talon approach Nanaki and a low conversation took place between the two boys on her team. Marumaru hadn't gone with his owner, but had instead remained near her, giving her big golden puppy dog eyes that just begged to be loved and petted. Giggling, Meiou knelt down, reached her hand toward the puppy and gently began to scratch behind his ears. Marumaru's mouth fell open as he panted slightly, his tongue lolling out in an expression that looked like a silly grin. She smiled at the puppy, content to just sit here and scratch the little dog's ears.

She became aware that both boys were approaching her and Marumaru, so she looked up without stopping her spoiling of the puppy. Her smile dimmed slightly as she saw Talon's slightly dark scowl and Nanaki's slightly stiff posture. "What's up guys?"

The bug user seated himself on one side of her, and Talon sat on the other next to Marumaru. Taking the hint, Meiou sat down between them. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Not exactly," Nanaki replied smoothly.

"Mei-chan, why do you wear so much white?" Talon asked her bluntly.

"I . . . I just . . . I like it," she shrugged, struggling to give a satisfactory answer. "Why?"

Both boys exchanged glances and Nanaki spoke up this time, "Meiou-chan, it is not . . . the best color to wear."

Meiou gave her friend a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

"We both think that our team is supposed to be something special . . . like a reconnaissance team, like Team 8," Talon said. "And if you wear that white out in the field, it could blow our cover and potentially even get us killed."

Meiou stared at him, trying to come to terms with the blunt truth. Unbidden, a memory from a dream she'd had not too long ago rose in her mind . . . the boy that the Meiou in her dreams called "Nii-san" had changed his clothing into something darker, navy blue and black, and she felt the little girl's shock. Her nii-san had always wore brighter colors, but he told her that as a Chuunin, he had to be ready to leave the village on missions, and so wearing darker colors would help him blend in and keep him safe.

Realizing that both boys were waiting for her response, she shook herself away from the memory of the dream, shoving it away. It was just a dream; it had no impact on her. She cleared her throat and said, "So . . . so I'm putting the team in danger."

"Yes," Nanaki said in a slightly more gentle tone, "Talon and myself both think that perhaps finding some different garments in a darker more neutral tone would benefit the team as a whole and allow us to, as Kumara-sensei dictated, work quicker, silently, and more efficiently."

Meiou looked at her friend in surprise. The Aburame cousins were so quiet, Shino more so than Nanaki, but that was really the most she'd ever heard him say!

Nanaki sighed, taking her surprise as confusion to his meaning, "If we can't be seen by anyone because our clothing helps us to blend in, we would be able to move about with a less chance of being seen by our target; thus moving quicker and to a point, more silently, as no one will know where we are. It would also be more efficient; we would be able to meet together on, say, a branch or specific rendezvous point inside dangerous territory and because of our neutral shades, we would stand a better chance of communication, though I doubt we'd ever use such tactics."

Talon just nodded, a bit perturbed that Nanaki had spoken so much in less than five minutes, but accepting the boy's knowledge and foresight as a trait that he could respect in the Kikaichuu wielder. "Yeah, what Nanaki said. So, could you come to our team meeting tomorrow, in something a little less obvious?"

Meiou bit her lip. She didn't have anything else to wear; along with her brother's famous orange jumpsuit, her clothes had been something they'd found in a box near a dumpster behind a clothing store. They'd taken the goods (the clothing was going to be thrown out anyways, right?) and washed them thoroughly. Both she and her brother were domestically challenged, except when it came to cooking for Meiou (she knew, at length, how to put meat in a pan and cook it, and she could make soup pretty well), so neither really knew how to patch up the holes or to mend the seams on the stolen clothing, but they still tried, and in the end, it was wearable.

Normally, her clothes wouldn't be a problem to her. However, given that all people seemed to hate her brother (except Teuchi-san who ran the Ichiraku's stand, and Iruka-sensei, and the Third), neither she nor Naruto could buy clothes from anywhere. All the store owners would refuse to sell them stuff, and if they left the money and walked out, the people would try to get them in trouble.

So, at this point, she was at an impasse – she simply didn't have any other clothes. She didn't, however, want to invite harm on her teammates. She had promised Kumara-sensei, after all, that she was gonna be the best little sister the team had ever had, and if there was one thing she learned from Naru-nii, it was that promises are made to be kept.

Still, to her teammates, her silence spoke volumes, and she thought that Talon's expression softened a bit as it continued, "You don't have anything to wear, do you?"

Feeling ashamed of herself, Meiou shook her head.

"Your shame is illogical, Meiou-chan," Nanaki reprimanded her in a monotonous voice. His thoughts raced to the time he saw her eat the nearly rotten fruit, the shabby state of her clothes and weapons, and the violent reaction of the weapon's shop owner. He figured that given the emotional creature Meiou was, she was probably feeling shame that she couldn't acquisize to his and Talon's request, and that she was ashamed because of the reactions of other people to her. It was, in short, illogical and he just didn't get it. "If it is for the reasons I am deducing, you are not responsible for others' actions towards your person. You have not, as far as I know, commited any sort of crime to or against the citizens of Konoha, thus, your shame is unnecessary and illogical."

"Dude," Talon scoffed, "Just say 'get over it'. It's a lot less trying on the brain."

"I see no issue with the way I deliver advice or encouragement," Nanaki said, and though the shame remained, Meiou felt delighted that Nanaki seemed to be teasing Talon. Their team was getting along for now, but the problem at hand remained. How was she to wear what she didn't have?

Talon bristled at Nanaki's statement, but turned his attention back to the youngest of his pack. "Don't sweat it Mei-chan. We'll think of something."

Nanaki followed Talon's example and also turned his attention to Meiou. "Indeed. We shall assist you to the best of our abilities."

She felt comforted to know her friends would help her out. "Thank you . . ." she whispered, feeling the warm glow that he Naru-nii's smiles would always leave in her heart. "Thank you so much . . ."

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**Okay! So this was about ten pages longer than normal . . . rounding out the total to 18! I just couldn't stop writing!**

**Please read and review!**


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